Montrell johnson, a year after decommitting from saint francis, lands at Slippery rock

Let’s Work!! @SRURockFB pic.twitter.com/SHHmKNfjSa

— Montrell “J3” Johnson (@Montrell_J3) January 4, 2026

Montrell Johnson was fortunate to have plenty of people in his corner. Johnson, a Highlands graduate, struggled with homelessness during his time in high school. 

After he committed to Saint Francis (Pa.) to play football during his senior year, the school announced it was dropping from the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level to Division III. Johnson, who played wide receiver for the Golden Rams and graduated in 2025, chose to go a different way and went back to work looking for a new school. Johnson spent time living with a high school teammate and his family while he attended community college.

Johnson announced this week he will play at Slippery Rock University. The Rock had a rare down season last year, finishing 6-5. SRU reached the Division II national semifinals in 2024 and made the playoffs every season from 2018 to 2024, with the lone exception coming during the COVID-19 year in 2020 where no season was played.

"I've chosen SRU because of their interest level in me as a student athlete," Johnson said. "Despite the year I've had with finding a home and not playing a snap of football since our loss to Imani Christian in the second round of the playoffs (in 2024) their coaching staff still has faith me in being a game-changing football player."

Johnson said that he lived with four or five different families while he was in high school. Over the past year, Johnson stayed sharp by working out with Tre Tipton. Tipton, a former Apollo-Ridge standout, played collegiately at Pitt. In the classroom, Johnson maintained a 3.0 GPA while attending community college.

"I'm most excited for getting the opportunity to play football again," Johnson said. "Most of us athletes don't realize that after high school another chance to put on the pads isn't guaranteed. You have to work for every single second of it. If you aren't willing to work for it, there are thousands of other athletes to replace you. You'll be sitting on the couch, regretting not putting in the work to earn a roster spot somewhere."

Josh Rizzo the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.