Who is Kevin Johns? Three things to know about new OU football co-offensive coordinator
NORMAN — Following the Sunday firing of OU offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, Kevin Johns was promoted from offensive analyst to co-offensive coordinator/quarterback coach.
Here’s a look at three quick things to know about the Sooners’ newest assistant coach:
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Kevin Johns is part of Ohio coaching pipeline
Johns grew up in Piqua, Ohio — north of Dayton and west of Columbus.
He was a second-team All-Ohio quarterback as a high school senior, graduating in 1994.
Johns went to Dayton, where he played quarterback and earned Football Gazette Division I-AA first-team All-America honors and offensive player of the year honors in 1996
Johns still stands No. 8 on the Flyers’ career passing list with 3,572 yards from 1995-97 and No. 7 on the school’s total offense list with 4,252 career yards.
He was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player in each of his last two seasons and was a captain in 1997.
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Kevin Johns’ track record of developing QBs
Johns spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as Duke’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Mike Elko.
With the Blue Devils, he played a significant role in the development of Riley Leonard.
Leonard blossomed under Johns’ tutelage, throwing for 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns with just six interceptions in 2022.
Leonard was hurt for much of last season but still wound up as one of Duke’s most-decorated quarterbacks before transferring to Notre Dame in the offseason.
Leonard is completing 66.7% of his passes so far this season with the Fighting Irish.
“He coached me to make the right decisions,” Leonard told the Raleigh News & Observer of Johns last season.
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Kevin Wilson helped jumpstart Kevin Johns’ coaching career
From 1999-2001, Johns served as a graduate assistant at Northwestern after spending a season as a high school assistant coach in Ohio.
The offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for those Wildcats teams was Kevin Wilson, who left after the 2001 season to become OU’s co-offensive coordinator and remained in Norman through the 2010 season.
When Wilson was hired as Indiana’s head coach in 2011, he brought Johns aboard as the Hoosiers’ co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Johns was the second assistant hired by Wilson after he took over Indiana.
While Wilson was at OU, Johnson spent two seasons coaching wide receivers at Richmond before returning to Northwestern to coach running backs and then wide receivers. He spent his last three seasons there as the Wildcats’ passing game coordinator.
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