johnson attended pennsylvania state university, and played for coach joe paterno's penn state nittany lions football team from 1999 to 2002. as a senior in 2002, he rushed for over 2,000 yards in a season without winning the heisman trophy, despite doing so with fewer carries than any other running back in the exclusive 2,000-yard club (this record was broken on november 22, 2014 by wisconsin's melvin gordon, who gained 2,000 yards on 241 carries—10 fewer than johnson's 251). he averaged 8.0 yards per carry during the regular season. johnson broke the penn state record for rushing yards in a game three times in 2002. his 257 yards in a 49–0 home thrashing of northwestern broke curt warner's previous record of 256 yards set against syracuse in 1981. he then went on to rack up 279 yards in an 18–7 home win against illinois and 327 yards in a 58–25 road win against indiana. he surpassed the 2,000-yard mark by gaining 279 yards on just 19 attempts in the penn state nittany lions' final big ten conference game against michigan state. johnson gained all 279 of his rushing yards in the first half, and was kept on the bench for the entire second half of the game. he finished the 2002 season with 2,087 yards.