LB Brayden Johnson Makes Statement in First Game as a Cowboy

Linebacker Brayden Johnson. Photo courtesy of UW Athletics

When Brayden Johnson follows Warpaint the horse onto Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium this Saturday, he will do so in front of the biggest crowd he’s ever played in front of. The senior linebacker from Ringling, Oklahoma, has risen through the ranks from high school football, then Oklahoma Baptist, before landing in brown and gold.

“In high school, I kind of played both ways. Small school, we had about 30-ish kids on my team,” Johnson said. “So I played middle linebacker and then played on offense and every special teams play.”

Despite his playmaking abilities, the recruiting attention out of high school wasn’t overwhelming. “I didn’t have a lot of big offers… I just met with some small schools, and then Tulsa talked to me at the end, after I had already ended up committing to Oklahoma Baptist,” Johnson said.

At OBU, Johnson’s first year was mostly spent on special teams with spot duty at linebacker, defensive end, and even nose guard. He climbed the depth chart during his sophomore and junior seasons. But something was missing.

“I just wasn’t happy there. We weren’t winning a lot of games, so I decided to get in the portal for my senior year,” Johnson said. “I’m super blessed and excited to be here at Wyoming for my senior season.”

Speaking of being excited to be here, Wyoming head football coach Jay Sawvel sure is excited that Brayden is here. He said during his weekly press conference that Johnson should've been here for the last three years.

The transfer portal brought interest from about eight Division I programs. Wyoming stood out.

“Just the culture here, and obviously they’ve had a lot of good linebackers come out of here and go play in the NFL, so that was a part of it,” Johnson said. “Just the atmosphere that they showed and talked to me about on the game day, huge. I wanted to play in front of a big crowd because I came from a small town.”

That crowd was on full display last Thursday night in Akron, when Johnson made an immediate impact in his Cowboys debut. He finished as Wyoming’s leading tackler with 8 combined tackles in a nationally televised shutout - the program’s first since 2017. He even added an interception, a play he admits was a blur.

“Honestly, I think I blacked out, I really don’t remember at all,” Johnson said with a grin. “I just remember I got the pick, and then I jumped the dude and made him miss, and then I saw the quarterback.”

What can fans expect to see from Johnson at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday? …Relentless effort. “I can expect the fans to see me play as physical and as hard as I can every play,” he said.

The transition to Wyoming has brought challenges off the field too, from the altitude to the cold winds of Laramie. “Yeah, the weather is a shock; it gets cold here. I remember, like probably in the first month here, it was pretty cold and windy, but I prefer the cold over the heat, so I like it,” Johnson said.

Along the way, he’s leaned on leaders within the program, especially defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl. “Linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz and I came in at the same time. So we’ve been pretty good buddies, and we've experienced it all together. Also, Evan Eller is a big leader in the linebacker room. He’s also helped a lot,” Johnson said. “Coach Bohl has made a big impact as well, just getting me in and helping me learn the defense.”

Off the field, Johnson is as Oklahoma as it gets. “When I’m back home, [I] do a lot of hunting and fishing. My older brother's got a couple of thermals, so we’ll go out at night and shoot some pigs and stuff like that,” he said.

Both of his older brothers played at the University of Central Oklahoma, and his oldest brother later joined him at Oklahoma Baptist.

Coming from a small program in Ringling, Johnson knows he was overlooked. That’s part of what fuels him.

“Coming from a small school like Ringling, I feel like it kind of set back my recruiting and I think I wasn’t looked at as much as I should have been,” Johnson said. “It put a chip on my shoulder. But I’m just glad to be here now.”

This Saturday, he’ll take the field at War Memorial Stadium - a long way from the 1,000 fans at Oklahoma Baptist. For Johnson, it’s the opportunity he’s been waiting for.

“I think the more fans at War Memorial, the more excited I’ll be,” Johnson said.

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