Eastern Illinois football addressed an issue of depth at the running back position as the Panthers signed junior college product Isaiah Johnson to play for the 2017 season. Johnson is from Clarksville, Tenn., and played the past two seasons at Moorpark College in California.
EIU recently played its annual Blue-White Spring Game with only three running backs on the spring roster and two available for the contest. EIU began to reload the backfield in February with the addition of two high school running backs.
Johnson rushed for 1,064 yards and 14 touchdowns last season as he earned first team All-CCCAA Junior College honors. He ranked third in both rushing yards and touchdowns scored. Johnson was named the Moorpark Male Athlete of the Year in 2016-17. As a freshman in 2015 he rushed for 780 yards and nine touchdowns at Moorpark.
Johnson played at Rossview High School in Clarksville, Tenn., where he was the school leader in career rushing yards and touchdowns with 4,040 yards and 43 career touchdowns.