Korey Johnson Ready to Step Into Alpha Role
8/12/2026 1:45:00 PM | Football
By Tanner Evans
Head coach Troy Calhoun was not shy expressing what he needs from his young cornerback room heading into the 2026 season.
"We've got to get two or three alpha's that emerge at corner." Calhoun said in his introductory press conference at Air Force's media day, Aug. 4.
He went on to explain what he wants to see from his cornerbacks on a daily basis, while expressing confidence that the group has the tools to develop into the unit he envisions.
"You just want to see it day in and day out," Calhoun added. "Knowledge is apart of that. We have the ability there, guys are in the weight room, they watch practice. [If] we go hard, we are going to develop and get good play there."
Finding that alpha could be tricky, but Calhoun may not have to look much further than junior defensive back Korey Johnson.
The two-year starter had a mini breakout as a sophomore, making seven starts en route to leading the team with five pass breakups. His 34 total tackles were the most among any cornerback on the team in 2025, and he put his ball skills on display when he returned a fumble for the Falcons' first defensive touchdown since 2018. The score gave the Falcons a 35-7 lead in the season-opening win over Bucknell.
When asked directly about Johnson, Calhoun pointed to several specific traits he likes about the cornerback's game.
"Korey has got good power and good short-area quickness," Calhoun said. "I think there's a much better understanding of technique by him. He had moments last year where he played really good football, it's just got to be for longer stretches this season."
For Johnson, the challenge is turning those flashes into consistent production. He believes the answer starts with building off what he accomplished a year ago.
"Stepping into a role like that is all about taking it one play at a time, but to do that it's about focusing on your job," Johnson said. "The biggest thing I want to improve upon from last year is just doing my job every single play. That would be the best thing I could do for the team,"
He went on to emphasize the importance of bringing the right energy every day, especially in a competitive position group.
"Showing up is the smallest piece you could do, but showing up with the right energy is contagious," Johnson said" Yes, you have to challenge yourself to get better, but we also need to challenge each other to get better too. That's been our mentality, and that's the way we want to approach it. We compete against each other, so we can compete against everyone else, so we can compete against our goals."
Regardless of what happens, Calhoun knows the talent he has at corner and expressed confidence in any given player to step into that role.
"Whether it's Korey, R.J. Reedas, Ehimen Oyamenda, these are capable guys who are going to be darn good college football players at the corner position," Calhoun said. "We just need to make it clear they can do this soon."
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Head coach Troy Calhoun was not shy expressing what he needs from his young cornerback room heading into the 2026 season.
"We've got to get two or three alpha's that emerge at corner." Calhoun said in his introductory press conference at Air Force's media day, Aug. 4.
He went on to explain what he wants to see from his cornerbacks on a daily basis, while expressing confidence that the group has the tools to develop into the unit he envisions.
"You just want to see it day in and day out," Calhoun added. "Knowledge is apart of that. We have the ability there, guys are in the weight room, they watch practice. [If] we go hard, we are going to develop and get good play there."
Finding that alpha could be tricky, but Calhoun may not have to look much further than junior defensive back Korey Johnson.
The two-year starter had a mini breakout as a sophomore, making seven starts en route to leading the team with five pass breakups. His 34 total tackles were the most among any cornerback on the team in 2025, and he put his ball skills on display when he returned a fumble for the Falcons' first defensive touchdown since 2018. The score gave the Falcons a 35-7 lead in the season-opening win over Bucknell.
When asked directly about Johnson, Calhoun pointed to several specific traits he likes about the cornerback's game.
"Korey has got good power and good short-area quickness," Calhoun said. "I think there's a much better understanding of technique by him. He had moments last year where he played really good football, it's just got to be for longer stretches this season."
For Johnson, the challenge is turning those flashes into consistent production. He believes the answer starts with building off what he accomplished a year ago.
"Stepping into a role like that is all about taking it one play at a time, but to do that it's about focusing on your job," Johnson said. "The biggest thing I want to improve upon from last year is just doing my job every single play. That would be the best thing I could do for the team,"
He went on to emphasize the importance of bringing the right energy every day, especially in a competitive position group.
"Showing up is the smallest piece you could do, but showing up with the right energy is contagious," Johnson said" Yes, you have to challenge yourself to get better, but we also need to challenge each other to get better too. That's been our mentality, and that's the way we want to approach it. We compete against each other, so we can compete against everyone else, so we can compete against our goals."
Regardless of what happens, Calhoun knows the talent he has at corner and expressed confidence in any given player to step into that role.
"Whether it's Korey, R.J. Reedas, Ehimen Oyamenda, these are capable guys who are going to be darn good college football players at the corner position," Calhoun said. "We just need to make it clear they can do this soon."
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Players Mentioned
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