Washington RB Dillon Johnson played Pac-12 Championship on a broken foot

Dillon Johnson is as tough as they come and played the Pac-12 championship game on a broken foot.

Washington Huskies fans know that they can never question the toughness of running back Dillon Johnson. He suffered a knee injury during his time at Mississippi State that bothered him throughout the offseason and kept him out of Washington’s matchup with Tulsa in September.

However, Johnson confirmed an injury that he suffered in November’s 22-20 win against No. 10 Oregon State was worse than some thought.

“I fractured my right foot in that game,” Johnson told Huskies Wire at Washington’s pro day on Wednesday. He was removed from the game after rushing for 89 yards on 16 carries and said that his foot bothered him for the rest of the year.

After taking 21 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown against Washington State in the Apple Cup, where the Huskies secured a 12-0 regular season with a 24-21 victory, he was still laboring from the injury as coach Kalen DeBoer’s team prepared for a short week matchup with the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship.

Even though it was clear that the injury was still bothering him as he limped back to the huddle at times against the No. 5 Ducks, he turned in arguably the best performance of his career.

Johnson was a huge factor in Washington’s 34-31 win that sent them to the Sugar Bowl, as offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb called on him to run the ball 28 times and he delivered with 152 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added a passing touchdown to wide receiver Germie Bernard and the game-winning run on 3rd and 17 as the Huskies beat coach Dan Lanning’s team for the second time that year.

“I knew how much my team needed me,” Johnson said. “I knew how much they had relied on me all season long and I couldn’t let those guys down.”

Johnson went on to suffer another lower body injury in Washington’s 37-31 win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl but continued to gut through the pain to play in the national championship game. However, on the first play of the game he suffered a high ankle sprain and while he continued to play, he wasn’t nearly as effective.

He said that he’s still in the recovery process from the plethora of injuries he suffered at the end of the year, and as he prepares for the NFL draft, it’s clear that he’s arguably the toughest running back in the 2024 class.