Former Texas Longhorns receiver Collin Johnson is retiring from football and heading to MIT after a career that helped reset Texas football.
Former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Collin Johnson is walking away from football, but he’s not exactly slowing down.
Johnson is retiring from the game and reportedly enrolling at MIT to pursue an MBA, closing the book on a football career that stretched from Austin to the NFL.
The former Texas standout was a fifth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2020 NFL Draft and appeared in 38 regular-season games with the Jaguars, New York Giants and Chicago Bears.
But before the NFL, Johnson helped drag Texas football back toward relevance.
The San Jose native arrived in Austin as a four-star recruit in the 2016 class, right as the Longhorns were trying to escape the wreckage of the Charlie Strong era.
Tom Herman eventually took over, Sam Ehlinger became the face of the offense, and Johnson became one of the program’s most reliable weapons.
Before Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Matthew Golden brought flash to Steve Sarkisian’s passing game, Johnson gave Texas size, toughness and a real downfield problem for defenses. At 6-6, he wasn’t subtle. He was a matchup nightmare.
Johnson played in 45 games for Texas with 29 starts, finishing with 188 catches, 2,624 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
His breakout moment came in 2017 against No. 4 USC, when he torched the Trojans for seven catches and 191 yards in a double-overtime thriller.
Then came 2018, his signature season. Johnson caught 68 passes for 985 yards and seven touchdowns as Texas won four ranked regular-season games, reached the Big 12 Championship Game and stunned Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
That team didn’t fully bring Texas back, but it reminded everyone the Longhorns still had teeth.
Now Johnson’s next chapter begins far from the sideline. From Texas star to NFL receiver to MIT MBA candidate, he’s leaving football with a resume that still hits hard.
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