Former Neumann Goretti star Tysheem Johnson’s ‘old-school mindset’ is helping Oregon gear up for a CFP run

Tysheem Johnson put himself on college coaches’ radar when he scored six touchdowns six different ways as a freshman for Albie Crosby’s 2017 Neuman Goretti squad. Seven years later, Johnson, now a safety for top-ranked Oregon, hasn’t lost his playmaking ability as a full-time defender.

But the bond between Crosby and Johnson is tighter than a typical high school coach and player. Crosby, by phone a day before N-G’s Thanksgiving Day game against South Philadelphia, said, “He’s close with my family; we’re actually family more than a coach and player relationship.”

“He’s got an old-school mindset. He loves football,” Crosby said of Johnson, whom he’s known since Johnson was in eighth grade. “It wasn’t about what football brought him, it was what he could bring to the game. So he became a student quite early. … This kid’s going to be the first kid to be on the field, he’s going to be the last kid to leave, and that’s who Tysheem is. That’s what gives him that edge, that makes him different from everybody else.”

Johnson calls moving to defense “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Across his time at Oregon and previously Mississippi, he has been asked to play in several defensive back positions, from outside corner, to nickel, to the “Star” position (a hybrid of safety and linebacker), and now safety, where he’s putting up a career year in takeaways. Johnson leads the Ducks with three interceptions and ranks third in solo tackles (27).

“I just trust in my preparation and having more confidence in making plays,” Johnson said by phone last week. “Once I make a play, I feel as though I can go out there and make an interception, I can go get two forced fumbles. Just putting in that work and making sure my hands are right, my body is right, to go out there and execute the plays.”

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The Ducks defense will have its hands full with No. 3 Penn State (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday (8 p.m., CBS3), with a first-round bye on the line in the expanded College Football Playoff. Johnson and the Ducks are looking to capture a conference championship for the first time under coach Dan Lanning after falling short to Washington last season in the Pac-12 title game.

“I always wanted to be on the type [of] team to make it to the playoffs and hopefully make it to the national championship, and I finally get a chance to be on that team this year,” Johnson said. “So just taking it all in every day, but still taking it one game at a time, and still knowing that we got to put in that work. Can’t be complacent.”

Just as he did in high school, Johnson earned a starting role in his freshman season at Ole Miss as an early enrollee during the 2021 spring. He started in 10 of 13 games, primarily as a nickel/safety hybrid. He finished with 47 tackles (four for losses) and one interception, and earned a spot on the first-team All-SEC freshman team.

His snaps at free safety increased as a sophomore, as he played in what Johnson called a “see ball, get ball” defensive scheme under co-defensive coordinators Maurice Crum and Chris Partridge. The latter played a big part in Johnson’s committing to Ole Miss.

“We didn’t run as many coverages [at Ole Miss] so my skill set was needed more close to the line of scrimmage at the Star there, more focused on the run fits,” Johnson said. “Whereas here [at Oregon], my skill set really revolves heavy in the passing game. I got good instincts, so I’m able to come down and make plays on a pass or in the run game.”

Partridge, now a linebackers coach for the Seattle Seahawks, saw a lot of similarities between Johnson and Jabrill Peppers during the recruiting process, Crosby said. Peppers, now with the New England Patriots, was coached by Partridge at Paramus Catholic and has enjoyed eight years in the NFL after a standout career at Michigan.

Crosby added that what makes Johnson particularly special at the college level is his knack for being around the football.

“It’s something that we always talked about and he does it — he’s always in the picture,” Crosby said. “If he doesn’t make the tackle, he’s the guy that’s coming in and finishing up. I think that’s something he’s taken pride in. When you get in the picture, good things happen. It could be a fumble, a ball could bounce your way rather than sitting there looking at it. He aggressively takes it on and puts yourself in the right spot.”

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The Big Ten has plenty of players from the Philly area. One of Johnson’s high school teammates, Eric Gentry, is a linebacker for Southern California and has remained a close friend since leaving Neumann Goretti. His youth football North Philly Blackhawks teammate Ke’Shawn Williams is making big plays on playoff-bound Indiana. Johnson will face Penn State’s Drew Shelton (Downingtown) and Abdul Carter (La Salle) this weekend and faced off against Ohio State’s Will Howard (Downingtown) earlier this season.

But one former West Philly native, now in the NFL, has been in Johnson’s corner from afar. Tykee Smith, a rookie defensive back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Johnson have kept in contact since high school, though Imhotep Charter’s Smith is a few years older. Johnson said he and Smith are “two of the best in Philly” who “definitely are always rooting for each other.”

Like Smith, Johnson has legitimate pro aspirations. His positional versatility mirrors that of Smith’s and he’s been a major contributor at two Power Four schools. But as his final collegiate season winds down, Johnson still has goals to accomplish, one that could end in Oregon’s first-ever national title win.

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“I got on my mirror that I want to finish this year with six interceptions, 100-plus tackles,” Johnson said. “Hopefully we make it to and win the natty and I will be national championship defensive MVP.”

A win Saturday over the Nittany Lions, whom he spurned in his recruiting process in picking Ole Miss, will help him start chipping away at those goals. And he’ll play a big role in slowing down record-setting Penn State tight end Tyler Warren.