Brayden Johnson’s Wild Interception Sparks Wyoming’s Comeback Win Over San Jose State
- Jeff Bugher
- Oct 16
- 3 min read
When linebacker Evan Eller tipped the football and it ricocheted off a helmet with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter last Saturday, Wyoming linebacker Brayden Johnson didn’t think twice. Instinct took over.
“Evan [Eller] and I were just coming off the edge and we both got to the quarterback pretty quick,” Johnson recalled. “Evan got his hands up and tipped the ball, and I heard it hit his hand, so I knew the ball was up in there somewhere. I turned around, and it ended up bouncing off someone’s helmet, and it just landed around my lap, really. Had some luck on my side there, and it just fell in my lap, and I ran into the end zone.”
Johnson’s pick-six completely flipped the momentum of the game, paving the way for a thrilling Cowboy comeback victory over San Jose State with a final score of 35-28, with Wyoming scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The victory ended a three-game losing skid.
Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 248-pound senior from Ringling, Oklahoma, transferred to Wyoming from Oklahoma Baptist for his final collegiate season. His interception return for a touchdown is the first of his Cowboy career, and it sure came at a moment when Wyoming needed a spark.
“Yep, first one,” Johnson said with a grin. “I was pretty excited. I didn’t have any celebration in mind or anything like that. I kind of just did what I did, I just put my arms out, kind of ran into the end zone.”
As Johnson crossed the goal line, his teammate and fellow linebacker Evan Eller was right behind him, the man who started the chaos with a perfectly timed pass deflection.
“Is that what happened? It hit off a helmet? Wow,” Eller said, laughing when told how the play unfolded during the post-game press conference when asked by Jeff Bugher of PokesNews.com about the play. “I just came free on the blitz that we called, I think it was fourth and short or third and short. I matched hands with the quarterback and got a tip on it. I thought the crowd was cheering because we just got a turnover on downs. Then I turn around, and I see Brayden just take it. I was looking for the next guy that was a threat to him, just trying to block and get my guy in the end zone.”
Eller said he couldn’t have been happier for Johnson.
“That was electric. I’m so happy for him,” Eller said. “That dude works his **** off, and he just stays patient, stays resilient. Coming from a lower level, you can see he’s a ball player; he’s got all the tangibles to keep playing at the next level. We just need him to keep balling and hanging in there for us. But I’m super happy for him. Anytime the defense scores and we can all be a part of it, that’s huge. The crowd was getting back into it, and that was just the strike of hope we needed to believe we were winning that game.”
Wyoming rode that surge of energy to finish strong, sealing an emotional home victory in front of a roaring War Memorial Stadium crowd, one that Johnson has come to deeply appreciate.
“Since I got here, that’s all I heard about, how good our crowd is and how loud they get,” Johnson said. “I definitely enjoy playing in front of the home crowd. It’s super, super fun. It’s the loudest it’s ever been at a game I’ve played in.”
The crowd size at War Memorial Stadium is a lot bigger than the crowd he played in front of at Oklahoma Baptist.
“I’m very blessed to be here,” he said. “I’m really glad that I decided to get in the portal for my last year and come to a place like Wyoming. It’s been a lot of fun since I’ve been here.”
What goals does Johnson have to finish out his career at Wyoming?
“Personally, I’d like to get 100 tackles; that’s been one of my goals since I’ve been playing college football,” he said. “And then to win a bowl game or a conference championship, something like that would be pretty cool.”
“Right place, right time,” he said with a smile. “And a little bit of luck on my side.”
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