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It's easier for Johnson to say his hometown is Houston, but his heart is "30 miles west of Houston." 

"I really claim Katy, but it's close enough," Johnson said.

Johnson said he's expecting to have around 30 supporters in attendance for Arizona-Houston on Saturday. He had over two dozen supporters for Arizona's road finale against TCU last year and the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio in 2023. 

"It just fuels me to play better and give them what they came to see and just let them realize they're my motivation and show that," he said. 

Johnson and redshirt freshman edge rusher Eduwa Okundaye are the two Katy, Texas natives at Arizona. The Wildcats had three Katy products until defensive lineman Jarra "Bear" Anderson left the program last week.

Katy High School had a 26-2 record in the two seasons Johnson played for the Tigers. Katy is led by 22-year head coach Gary Joseph, who has led the Tigers to five state championships. Katy's last state title was Johnson's senior season in 2020.

Friday nights are for football in Katy. Nothing else.  

"I be trying to tell the guys in the locker room but they never believe me, but when Friday comes around, you have mom-and-pop shops and small-town restaurants closing early to go to a high school game," Johnson said. "Football really means something. I'm so glad I went there to Katy High School. That football program is college-like and it got me ready for the next level. It carried over, so I'm thankful for Coach Joseph and the football staff over there."

As a part of Arizona's 2021 recruiting class, Johnson signed with the Wildcats in December 2020, even though the UA didn't have a head coach after firing Kevin Sumlin. Johnson has played for two head coaches at Arizona, Jedd Fisch and Brent Brennan, and four defensive coordinators in Don Brown, Johnny Nansen, Duane Akina and now Danny Gonzales. 

Since Johnson signed with the Wildcats, the number of Texas natives playing at Arizona has grown.  

"I was all onboard with that because Texas football means something," Johnson said.

After scrapping and clawing his way for two seasons, Johnson became a full-time starter in 2023 and has been a tandem with former free safety Gunner Maldonado and current starter Genesis Smith. Johnson has logged 1,867 defensive snaps in four seasons, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Johnson has 229 tackles (the most by any current Wildcat), six forced fumbles and two interceptions in his career. Johnson had a profound impact in Arizona's turnaround against BYU last week, with a fourth-down stop on a fake punt and his first interception since the Territorial Cup in 2023.  

“He’s just one of those guys that continues to show up every day, continues to lead, continues to be a positive voice for the football team, continues to make plays on game day," Brennan said. "I can’t say enough positive things about Dalton. He’s an awesome player and an awesome human being.

“The great thing about who he is, he’s going to be upset about how (the BYU game) ended and he’s going to push the team to go to work and get to fixing it. I can yell and scream all day, but we need the guys in the locker room to say, ‘We’re not letting that happen again,’ and go to work on fixing it.�

Johnson is on pace to lead the Wildcats in tackles again this season, after recording 96 last season. Is that a concern, considering he's playing in the third level of the defense?

When Gonzales took over in the spring, he identified "who I felt could be middle linebacker types" in his unpredictable and aggressive defense.

Both Johnson and Smith are in safety-linebacker positions that made Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher a household name and budding NFL talent at New Mexico, said Gonzales.  

"We've done some stuff schematically that they don't know what middle safety ... is going to come down and be the middle linebacker between Dalton and Gen," Gonzales said. "We can flip it by call, flip it by formation, flip it by coverage. If you look at it statistically, our two leading tacklers are the two linebackers: Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith.  

"(Linebackers) Max Harris and Taye Brown are the next two, who are the next closest to the ball, and then you've got (defensive tackles) Deshawn McKnight and Tia Savea who are right there behind them. ... Now (the offense) has to account for two different guys that might be the middle linebacker and where they're coming from. Dalton Johnson is super special because he can be that piece. You can't do that with a ton of safeties."