Georgia Tech safety Isaiah Johnson is in good spirits as he recovers from his ACL tear, but is uncertain if he’ll be ready in time for the season opener.

Johnson opened the Yellow Jackets’ fall camp in a yellow jersey, meaning he was released only to participate in non-contact drills. Johnson said he took part in individual drills with the safeties and walk-throughs. Johnson is a two-year starter at safety and Wednesday was named to the Sporting News’ preseason All-ACC team.

“Nothing serious, not too much movement,” Johnson said. “Just slow and steady.”

Given that the injury took place just over eight months ago, and a return from an ACL tear can take a year or longer, a patient course of rehabilitation is perhaps wisest.

“We’re going to kind of ease him back in,” coach Paul Johnson said.

That said, it hasn’t been easy for Isaiah Johnson to go slowly. He was sore Thursday, he said, because he went too hard in a workout.

“I have to be smart and adjust, know my boundaries, because I’m not 100 percent, so I can’t do what I really want to do,” he said. “I just have to be patient and good things will come.”

Johnson suffered the injury in bowl practice in December in a knee-to-knee collision with a teammate.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner (42) fights for possession during the first half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Indiana Fever at Gateway Center Arena on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. 
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT