‘Incredible intelligence’: Here’s what Georgia Tech transfer cornerback Kenan Johnson brings to Utah

During a practice this week, new Utah cornerback Kenan Johnson broke on the ball, leaped in the air and, with his body nearly horizontal, intercepted a pass on the goal line.

It drew the biggest cheer of the session from his teammates, and the defense mobbed the Georgia Tech transfer as he ran to the sidelines.

Plays like that have impressed Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, who said this week that if Utah played today, Johnson would be starting at cornerback.

“He’s made plays from day one. He was a great addition to our football team and has really helped solidify that secondary,” Whittingham said.

Knowing that Miles Battle and JaTravis Broughton were on the way out of the program — Battle to the NFL draft and Broughton to TCU — Whittingham and company made moves to snag Johnson from the transfer portal. While the Utes do have some promising young cornerbacks — Elijah Davis and Michigan transfer freshman Cameron Calhoun have each made impressive plays during practice — bringing in a veteran player like Johnson was vital.

Last season at Georgia Tech, Johnson played in 11 games, starting eight, and finished as one of the highest-rated defensive players for the Yellow Jackets, according to Pro Football Focus. He totaled 29 tackles, two forced fumbles, four pass deflections and had an interception.

Born in Florida and attending Georgia Tech for the past four years, Johnson didn’t follow Utah football, but when the time came to decide where to go for his fifth year of college football, he noted that Utah’s reputation for sending defensive players to the NFL was the big factor.

“That was one of my main reasons why I decided to come and even take a visit out here. Just seeing that, seeing how well the defense plays year-in and year-out,” Johnson said.

Arriving at a new program after having played at another school for four years can be difficult — Johnson admitted he started off slow while getting used to Utah’s playbook — and aside from the football side of things, there’s also the human element of moving to an unfamiliar place and getting settled.

“I think initially it was tough because he came and it was cold and you are without a lot of the family,” cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah said. “He had family in the Atlanta area, he’s from the South, he’s from Florida. So it was tough. And not knowing anyone on the team, even though the ball players in the cornerback room knew him and embraced him, it’s still difficult when you don’t have anybody that you really knew and could really have a sincere vibe with.”

The senior had to learn Utah’s defense fast before he was thrown into the fire that is a spring camp with defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley — Shah says that’s where Johnson’s “incredible intelligence” is apparent — but he’d have it no other way.

“I feel like him throwing me in the fire, he had trust in me. I got trust in myself, so I felt like it was the right decision,” Johnson said.

After that acclimation period, learning Utah’s defense and starting to bond with his teammates, Johnson has fit in pretty seamlessly.

“I think that he has felt a level of love and acclimation and acceptance by the players in the room,” Shah said.

On the field, Johnson says what he brings to the table for Utah’s cornerback room is speed.

“I would say my ability to get from point A to point B. I would say I’m really quick, twitchy and I could run with anyone,” Johnson said.

That speed is important, as one of the main differences Johnson has noticed between Georgia Tech’s and Utah’s defensive philosophies is that more responsibility is placed on the cornerback.

“Georgia Tech’s defense, I feel like was safety-based in terms of it was catered more to the safeties. Here, I feel like the corners are given more of an opportunity to be left on the island and make plays and also just get at the quarterback as well,” Johnson said.

Early on during Johnson’s time in Salt Lake City, Shah has noticed how hard the cornerback pushes himself at practice, in the film room and in the weight room, setting an example for some of the younger cornerbacks.

He’s also the strongest cornerback in the room — he had 17 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Combine that with his leadership qualities that are apparent after just a short time in the program, his ideal size for the position (6-foot-and-a-quarter, 182 pounds, according to Shah), his speed and his ability to easily digest the defense and apply what he sees in the film room to his play on the field, and he has Utah’s coaches excited about his ability to slide in at outside cornerback this fall.

“That level, again, of competition, of being able to say, listen, I want to be able to compete with a very good defense and members of a good defensive unit. So let me show you that I’m here to put in the sweat and tears in the weight room and guys gravitate toward that. So you love his leadership, just naturally who he is. He was a natural leader,” Shah said.