Former Bama Linebacker Joins Texas Coaching Staff

The Texas Longhorns have done it again.

Since hiring Steve Sarkisian in January 2021 to assume the head coaching roll, the historic Big 12 program has taken on a distinct Alabama flavor with a number of its staff members having worked with Sarkisian in Tuscaloosa. Sarkisian even welcomed four former Alabama players to Austin by way of the transfer portal in his short tenure.

On Sunday evening The Bama Standard Podcast reported that former Alabama linebacker Nico Johnson had been hired by Sarkisian to join the coaching staff. Johnson, according to his Twitter biography will be joining the Longhorns' staff to assume a graduate assistant role with a focus on the defensive line.

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Johnson was a 5-star recruit and considered the second best player in the state of Alabama in the 2009 recruiting class. He came to the Capstone and won two SEC championships and three BCS Titles.

In four years of action as a linebacker he accumulated 163 tackles with 16.5 for a loss. He forced three fumbles got two sacks, two interceptions and one fumble recovery and was named to the 2009 SEC All-Freshman team.

Johnson was then drafted in the fourth round by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2013 NFL Draft. He played in the league for three seasons with the Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants appearing in just 18 games.

He joins the Longhorns defensive staff who working with defensive line coach Bo Davis. Davis coached Johnson for two seasons in Tuscaloosa before his first stint working for Texas.

Fans were already excited for the 2022 Week 2 matchup between Texas and Alabama, count this as one more reason for intrigue in this high-profile matchup.