 Johnson played football and baseball at Palomar College where he was an All State (California) placekicker in 1975 and San Jose State University, where he played both sports again, he was an Academic All American in 1978 for baseball.He was drafted in the 11th round of the 1978 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Mets.Johnson played in the Mets farm system for two seasons before being traded to the Braves in 1980.