Pro Football released its list of the top ten returning college football players at each position group for the 2022 season. Third year Texas A&M safety Antonio Johnson was considered by that outlet to be the best returning safety in the country after a season in which they already named Johnson as one of the 100 best college players in 2021 with a PFF grade of 87.4 along with Aggies' running back Devon Achane.

It was an impressive feat for Johnson considering his lack of playing time in 2020 as a true freshman (when he played primarily on special teams) as well as the fact that he was blocked from starting at one of the deep safety positions by veterans Demani Richardson and Leon O'Neal. However, it was apparent in workouts and limited game action that Johnson could be a special player and that the A&M staff needed to find a way to get him on the field.

Under former defensive coordinator Mike Elko, the Aggies had primarily used converted corners at the nickel spot who usually had the size to play safety but had just enough coverage skills to be able to take on slots. Johnson wasn't much different from his predecessors in terms of his rangy frame but he offered better twitch in terms of his ability to change direction even versus smaller, quicker players. His closing speed and vision made him both a violent hitter as well as someone who could break up passes or make sure that receivers couldn't do anything after the catch.

As a result, Johnson moved down near the line of scrimmage and became an impact player from the time of his first snaps at the position. He helped changed the direction of the Colorado game after A&M starting quarterback Haynes King went down with the an injury and the offense struggled to move the ball. Down four points and knowing that one more score might be the ballgame, the Aggies' defense kept the offense until Zach Calzada could engineer a late game drive to take home a come from behind 10-7 victory. Johnson used his length to keep Colorado's slots from either catching the ball or doing anything with it after they caught it and he also registered a team high nine solo stops. In fact, that became Johnson's biggest attribute throughout the season...his ability to take people down in space without help. He did so nine times in Denver that day and had three more outings where his linebacker like tendencies enabled him to register nine or more stops in the game. Johnson essentially provided the Aggies with an extra linebacker on the field who could cover short and even roll back into the deep zones in some looks that provided Elko with the ability to use coverages most offenses weren't used to seeing.

With the arrival of new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, it will be interesting to see what he does with Johnson whose range could help the Aggies become an even better defense on third down in 2022 than they were in 2021 when they permitted opponents to convert just 33% of such opportunities (second only to Alabama in the SEC).