BOZEMAN, Montana – A former three-year starting center at Wisconsin who coached Badgers running backs last fall joins the Montana State coaching staff as offensive line coach, Bobcats head coach Brent Vigen announced.
 
Al Johnson started at center for the Badgers from 2000-02, earning Second Team All-Big 10 and third team All-America honors as a senior in 2002. His experience includes head coach at an NCAA Division II school and assistant coach at a Division III program, as well as helping develop young linemen as the owner-operator of an offensive line academy..
 
"Al's experience as a player both at Wisconsin and in the NFL excites me," Vigen said, "and his varied coaching experience at the college level makes him uniquely qualified. He's a very good teacher and has proven to be a really good recruiter at different levels. I'm excited to add the sum total of his experience to our staff."
 
Johnson takes over one of the most productive offensive lines in the FCS. The Bobcats led the Big Sky in rushing the last three seasons, finishing in the top 10 in the FCS each of those seasons. A Bobcat offensive lineman has earned All-America honors in five of the last seven seasons, including Rush Reimer in 2022.
 
After his time playing at Wisconsin, Johnson spent four seasons playing for the Dallas Cowboys (2003-06), two with the Arizona Cardinals (2007-08), and one each with Miami (part of 2008) and New England (2009). Following his playing career, he was owner-operator of the Al Johnson Line Camp and launched his coaching career as offensive coordinator at his former high school (Southern Door in Brussels, Wisconsin) in 2013.
 
In 2014, he began a two-year tenure as assistant offensive line coach at NCAA Division III St. Norbert. He returned to his alma mater in 2016 for two years as Badgers assistant offensive line coach then became head coach at NCAA Division II East Central in 2018. He assumed head coaching duties at Division II in Ada, Oklahoma, a program that logged three wins in the two seasons before Johnson's arrival. The Tigers finished 3-8 in both 2018 and 2019, won both games in the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season, the finished 7-4 in 2021. He returned to Wisconsin as running backs coach in 2022.
 
Team success has been a constant throughout Johnson's college career. Three of his four Badgers squads advanced to bowl games during his playing career, highlighted by the 10-2 Rose Bowl squad o 1999. His two St. Norbert teams posted winning records, including 10-1 in 2015, while the 2016-17 Wisconsin teams finished 24-4 with appearances in the Cotton and Orange bowls. Wisconsin finished 7-6 and won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in 2022, with Johnson coaching the offensive line in the bowl win over Oklahoma State.
 
Johnson takes over for Brian Armstrong, who accepted a similar position at Fresno State. The Bobcats played in the FCS Semifinals in 2022 and the national championship game in 2021, advancing to the semifinals in each of the last three seasons.
 
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