SAN DIEGO – Head coach Sean Lewis has added Matt Johnson as the new San Diego State quarterbacks coach. The duo is reunited after spending six seasons together between Syracuse and Kent State.
Matt Johnson joined Kent State in January of 2018 as a quality control coach with a focus on offense and quarterbacks and was promoted to running backs coach prior to the 2020 spring season. In 2023, he was promoted again to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The run game was dominant under Johnson's guidance. In 2022, they ranked 22nd nationally, averaging 202.1 yards per game including seven games over 200-yards and two over 300. Marquez Cooper paced the backs, earning all-MAC first team honors after rushing for 1,331 yards and 13 touchdowns. He totaled four 100-plus yard games including a 240-yard, two touchdown game against Ohio. He ranked top 25 nationally in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Johnson's running backs were outstanding in the 2021 season. Marquez Cooper and Xavier Williams combined to rush for over 2,000 yards. The Flashes eclipsed 300 yards rushing in five games, including a season-high 494 rushing yards and seven touchdowns against VMI. The rushing attack, spearheaded by the running backs, ranked third in the FBS in the 2021 season, only behind Air Force and Army. The running backs accounted for 27 touchdowns over the course of the season.
Kent State's run game excelled under Johnson in 2020, finishing second in the MAC and third in the FBS in rushing offense (283 yards per game). The Flashes ran for at least 200 yards in each game this season and threw for over 300 yards in three of the four games. They also finished with 13 rushing touchdowns over the four games.
Johnson helped with the quarterbacks over the 2018 and 2019 seasons. This included Dustin Crum, who ranked 11th in the country in passing efficiency and was the only quarterback in the country to throw for more than 20 touchdowns with two or fewer interceptions. Crum and his 436 total yards and three touchdowns propelled the Golden Flashes to a win in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl, the first bowl win in school history.
The 2019 offense was one for the Kent State history books. The Golden Flashes' offense averaged 405.6 yards per game, which ranks third in program history. The 905 plays ran also rank third all-time. The 2,849 passing yards rank second in Kent State history and the 42 total touchdowns ranks fifth.
Johnson has worked alongside Coach Lewis at both Syracuse and Kent State. A 2016 graduate of Bowling Green, Johnson set numerous records as the Falcons' quarterback and helped lead Bowling Green to a pair of Mid-American Eastern Division and Conference titles. The 2015 MAC Player of the Year, he set the school record with 73 career touchdown passes and was named honorable mention All-America by Sports Illustrated.
After his collegiate career, he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent and also spent time in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Matt married his wife Kelly in February 2021.