Colorado State University Athletics
Football
Johnson, Luke
Luke Johnson
- Title:
- Defensive Line
Luke Johnson joined Colorado State in July 2025 as the defensive line coach after spending the previous season at Baylor as a defensive graduate assistant. Johnson joined the Baylor staff in May of 2024 and was elevated into the Quality Control role in January of 2025 and assistant linebacker coach in the summer.
During his first season with the Bears, Johnson helped transform a defensive unit under head coach Dave Aranda into a thriving unit that helped spur a six-game winning streak to conclude the regular season, earning BU a berth in the Texas Bowl.Â
His 2024 defensive unit was highlighted by the dynamic inside linebacker duo of Keaton Thomas and Matt Jones. The pair combined for 227 tackles, each earning first-team All-Big 12 honors. They marked the first linebacker duo since 2011 to total over 100 tackles each in a season.Â
Before Waco, Johnson worked as a defensive graduate assistant at Western Kentucky in 2023, which followed a season as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Sioux Falls in 2022.Â
Johnson started his coaching career at Wofford in 2020 as a defensive quality control coach. The following year he was elevated to the outside linebackers for the Terriers.
While at Western Kentucky, he worked alongside Colorado State’s defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. Johnson helped the Toppers to 26 total turnovers, leading the conference and ranking No. 7 nationally. WKU had 11 fumble recoveries, ranking seventh in the nation and its 15 interceptions ranked No. 15 in the NCAA.Â
He played four seasons at UW-Platteville, from 2016-19, where he was a four-year starter at cornerback, a 2019 team captain, and was named to second-team all-conference in 2017 and to the 2016 newcomer team of the year. Johnson was the recipient of the George Chryst Award, representing leadership and attitude both on and off the field.
Personal Information
Hometown:Â Milan, Illinois
Education:Â UW-Platteville, 2019 (Bachelor's)
Birthday:Â March 14
Johnson Experience
2025-Present: Colorado State (Defensive Line)
2024: Baylor (Graduate Assistant – Outside Linebackers)
2023: Western Kentucky (Graduate Assistant – Linebackers)
2022: University of Sioux Falls (Linebackers / Special Teams Coordinator)
2020-21: Wofford (Defensive Quality Control – Inside Linebackers, 2020; Outside Linebackers, 2021)
During his first season with the Bears, Johnson helped transform a defensive unit under head coach Dave Aranda into a thriving unit that helped spur a six-game winning streak to conclude the regular season, earning BU a berth in the Texas Bowl.Â
His 2024 defensive unit was highlighted by the dynamic inside linebacker duo of Keaton Thomas and Matt Jones. The pair combined for 227 tackles, each earning first-team All-Big 12 honors. They marked the first linebacker duo since 2011 to total over 100 tackles each in a season.Â
Before Waco, Johnson worked as a defensive graduate assistant at Western Kentucky in 2023, which followed a season as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Sioux Falls in 2022.Â
Johnson started his coaching career at Wofford in 2020 as a defensive quality control coach. The following year he was elevated to the outside linebackers for the Terriers.
While at Western Kentucky, he worked alongside Colorado State’s defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. Johnson helped the Toppers to 26 total turnovers, leading the conference and ranking No. 7 nationally. WKU had 11 fumble recoveries, ranking seventh in the nation and its 15 interceptions ranked No. 15 in the NCAA.Â
He played four seasons at UW-Platteville, from 2016-19, where he was a four-year starter at cornerback, a 2019 team captain, and was named to second-team all-conference in 2017 and to the 2016 newcomer team of the year. Johnson was the recipient of the George Chryst Award, representing leadership and attitude both on and off the field.
Personal Information
Hometown:Â Milan, Illinois
Education:Â UW-Platteville, 2019 (Bachelor's)
Birthday:Â March 14
Johnson Experience
2025-Present: Colorado State (Defensive Line)
2024: Baylor (Graduate Assistant – Outside Linebackers)
2023: Western Kentucky (Graduate Assistant – Linebackers)
2022: University of Sioux Falls (Linebackers / Special Teams Coordinator)
2020-21: Wofford (Defensive Quality Control – Inside Linebackers, 2020; Outside Linebackers, 2021)
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