Biography
Head Coach Aaron Best on Johnson: “He was arguably the best quarterback in the state this last year in the state of Washington. He had opportunities to go other places, but he decided to come to Eastern based on our tradition, our offense and based on his ability to compete. He felt like EWU was the best fit for him for the next five years. He is a player who can get above the rim in basketball and make you look silly. The rim actually bends when he gets above it and he can flush the ball, and I’m jealous because I’ve never been able to do that. Any quarterback -- or anybody for that matter – who can do that with ease is intriguing to us, so it speaks to his athleticism. He can really spin the football, and he is not small – Parker is put together well and has deceptive speed. In our offense we like to think the first step in recruiting a QB is finding one who can make the first guy miss. He has been able to do that and we expect the same at the college level. So we are excited from him to come on board and compete with Shane Jennings in his class and also the other quarterbacks on our roster.”
HS: Graduated from Cascade Christian HS in 2020. Was a two-star recruit by 247 Sports. He played four seasons as the starting quarterback for the Cougars, passing for 8,953 yards and rushing for another 765 for a total of nearly 10,000 yards of total offense. He completed 64.4 percent of his passes and had 83 touchdowns, with 25 interceptions. Johnson averaged 9.2 yards per rush and scored another 14 times for a total of 97 touchdowns accounted for. He led his team to four 1A Nisqually League championships and four berths in the State 2A Playoffs, with a collective league mark of 25-0 and a 35-6 record overall. He was a four-time first team All-1A Nisqually League selection at quarterback from 2016-19, and was the league’s Offensive MVP the latter three seasons. According to 247Sports, Johnson was the 109th best recruit out of the state of Washington and ranked 129th in the country at the pro-styled quarterback position. As a senior, he earned honorable mention 1A All-State honors from Associated Press as a quarterback. Johnson completed 123-of-175 passes (70.3 percent) for 2,780 yards and 21 touchdowns, with just four interceptions. He also ran for an additional 422 yards (9.8 per carry) and seven scores. He had seven passing performances with at least 300 yards, including 474 with two touchdowns in a 38-38 win over White River when he also rushed for a season-high 108 yards and three more scores. He had five TD passes in a 60-7 victory against Klahowya, plus rushed for one. He led Cascade Christian to an 8-1 record and perfect 5-0 record in the 1A Nisqually League. The Cougars fell 41-12 to eventual runner-up Lynden Christian in the first round of the State 1A Playoffs. In his junior season, he passed for 2,132 yards and 19 touchdowns, with eight interceptions. He had five performances with at least 300 yards passing (high of 392) and one with 100 yards rushing (103). Cascade Christian closed the year 7-2 overall and 6-0 in the league, losing to Lynden Christian 20-0 in the first round of the State 1A Playoffs. As a sophomore, he passed for 2,276 yards with a high of 294 and 26 touchdowns, and rushed for another for another 88 yards and two scores. The Cougars were 10-2 overall and 7-0 in the Nisqually League that season, beating Nooksack Valley 61-53 in the first round before falling 41-35 to La Center in the State 1A quarterfinals. He passed for 1,765 yards and 17 scores as a freshman, with a high game of 268. Cascade Christian finished 10-1 overall and 7-0 in league play, and suffered its first loss in the second round of the State 1A Playoffs after receiving a first-round bye. His high school coach was Devin Snyder. Besides playing four years of football, he also played four years of basketball at Cascade Christian. He was honored on the All-1A Nisqually League team as an honorable mention selection as a freshman, second team as a sophomore and first team as a junior and senior.
Personal: Interested in majoring in electrical engineering at Eastern and has a 3.73 grade point average through winter quarter 2021. Born 11/21/01 in Federal Way, Wash. His parents are Keith and Shari Johnson. He originally committed to Yale prior to his senior season but de-committed on Dec. 1, 2019.
