Arizona received a commitment from former Colorado edge rusher Victory Johnson, who played at Cal Poly in the last two seasons. Johnson joins Cooper Blomstrom as the edge rushers Arizona has added through the 2026 Transfer Portal to the roster for the upcoming season.
Colorado signed Johnson in the 2023 class as the 1,196th prospect, 96th linebacker and 108th player in California out of San Diego Cathedral Catholic. Johnson redshirted at Colorado in 2023 before transferring to Cal-Poly. Johnson significantly increased his production in 2025.
In his first season with Cal Poly in 2024, Johnson had 10 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss in nine games. Johnson improved to 26 tackles, 7.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, one interception and three passes defended in 2025. Cal Poly lists Johnson at 6'4 and 250 pounds. The majority of the 2025 Arizona defensive line. returns.
Defensive end Tre Smith, second on Arizona with 7.5 TFLs and first recording 4.5 sacks in 2024, returns after being limited to four games in 2025 with an injury. Johnson will compete for snaps on an experienced 2026 Arizona DL.
Arizona has landed a commitment from Cal Poly transfer DE Victory Johnson, per his agent @IanJohnsonAce. https://t.co/bGTJs5K7mo
— Max Olson (@max_olson) March 3, 2026
Arizona DL stepping into bigger roles in 2026
Arizona returns rising sophomore Mays Pese, senior Leroy Palu, redshirt juniors Julian Savaiinaea and Dominic Lolesio and redshirt sophomore Eduwa Okundaye from the final 2025 two-deep depth chart in the Holiday Bowl against SMU. Arizona adds experience and production to its 2026 DL with Johnson and Smith.
Johnson mixes in well with the DL on the 2026 Arizona roster. Most of the DL on the 2026 Arizona roster were three-star prospects out of high school and/or as transfers. With the addition of Johnson, Arizona now has the 51st-ranked transfer class by 247Sports.
Johnson could be utilized as a hybrid edge rusher/linebacker by defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. Gonzales frequently utilizes a 5-2-5 formation, but provides many different looks to opposing offenses. Gonzales led a significantly improved Arizona defense in 2025.