A seasoned football executive, Ethan Johnson has a career in college football spanning more than two decades with a distinguished track record in recruiting, personnel, and program development. His leadership has contributed to program development, nationally ranked recruiting classes, and postseason success at multiple stops throughout his career.
Johnson currently serves as the Senior Director of Recruiting and Development at Auburn, where his strategic vision and organization of the recruiting process have been pivotal in elevating the program's recruiting success. Johnson joined Coach Hugh Freeze’s initial Auburn staff, leading efforts to reshape the Tigers' day-to-day recruiting operations with a strong emphasis on in-state recruiting. He serves as a liaison to the Auburn athletic administration in many areas, overseeing all aspects of recruiting operations, including travel, budgeting, compliance, roster management, eligibility, the on-boarding process and player development.
Experiencing an immediate transformative impact on the roster under Freeze, Auburn’s 2024 class ranked No. 8 in the nation and featured four wide receivers ranked within the top 35 at their position -- a significant jump in the first full offseason with the program’s strongest class since 2020.
From 2019 to 2022, Johnson served as Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting at Liberty University, directing all areas of recruiting, acquisition and roster management while also serving as football’s liaison with the creative and compliance departments. Under his leadership, Liberty's football program experienced unprecedented recruiting success, which translated into significant on-field achievements, including top 25 poll rankings, wins over multiple major Division I opponents and four bowl appearances – one for every year since Liberty joined the FBS ranks. Johnson’s ability to develop a program and build a competitive roster was crucial in elevating Liberty to college football prominence.
Prior to Liberty, Johnson served as the Director of Player Personnel at East Carolina University from 2016-19, where he demonstrated his exceptional recruiting acumen and development skills by bringing in key players who made an immediate impact. His responsibilities included directing all non-coaching aspects of the program, such as staff management, recruiting operations, travel, camps, facility development and day-to-day operations. From a recruiting standpoint, Johnson led the identification, evaluation and acquisition processes, organized prospect visits and provided leadership to the team's creative department. His contributions helped East Carolina maintain its strong football tradition and competitiveness in the American Athletic Conference.
Johnson’s career began at Duke University as Assistant Director of Player Personnel from 2006-16. He was instrumental in revitalizing Duke's recruiting efforts under then-head coach David Cutcliffe, helping the program secure several highly regarded recruiting classes. This record-setting period of on-field success included six bowl appearances, AP Poll rankings and a 2013 ACC Coastal Division Championship. Johnson’s ability to identify and attract top talent contributed significantly to Duke's competitive resurgence in the ACC; he also held duties of executing on-campus recruiting efforts and events, along with academic eligibility and roster management.
A native of Hillsborough, North Carolina, Ethan has attained two sport management degrees from Liberty University. He and his wife, Sarit, have three children: Cooper, Noah, and Charlotte.