Count Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn as someone not surprised to see Wes Johnson have the success he’s had at Georgia.

Johnson served as the pitching coach for the Razorbacks for two seasons (2017-2018) under Van Horn, before accepting an offer from the Minnesota Twins.

As the top-ranked Razorbacks (31-3, 11-1) look to face the No. 7 Bulldogs (30-5, 8-4), Van Horn said on Thursday he’s not surprised to see his protégé have the success he’s had, and said Johnson would speak often about becoming a head coach one day.

“He talked about wanting to be a head coach down the road. You know, we had a few conversations here and there,” Van Horn said during a Zoom session with reporters. “He made a comment, ‘I want to do what you’re doing one day and keep moving up.’”

The conversations weren’t just relegated to Johnson’s time in Fayetteville.

Even when Johnson was with Minnesota, the two would talk regularly until Johnson made the switch back to the SEC when he accepted the job as pitching coach with eventual national champion LSU.

“I don't want to get into all the phone calls I got in my time about, you know, schools calling, wanting to know if I was interested in a head job. There were some times when I was at Arkansas … there were times with the Twins. Those phone calls would happen. And I would call him,” Johnson said. “But mean, come on, man, that guy's career is unbelievable. Heck, I would never be able to have that. I'd have to be a lot younger. Dave's a superstar. He's a mentor for me. I love that guy. He's awesome.”

Van Horn said he never wanted to lose Johnson to pro ball, although he’s happy he was able to realize his dream of being a head coach in the SEC.

“I let him coach. I didn’t micromanage him, and I think he appreciated that a lot,” Van Horn said. “But it was almost like he had to take the Twins job. He'll probably tell you that.”

This weekend’s series will mark the first time the two have gone against each other as head coaches as the Razorbacks and Bulldogs did not play each other last year.

“I still talk a lot about him with our staff. I mean, just the way Dave's a real – he's not a big micromanager, at least in my opinion. That was just my take on him,” Johnson said. “He knows this league, the insights, and I like how direct and honest he is with players. I think there are some things I've taken away from him and have used in my career. Yeah, there's a lot of things.”

Van Horn said Georgia could not have picked a better man for the job.

“Wes is a good baseball guy and hired some really good coaches. If you talk to coaches all around our league, we think Athens is a great place,” Van Horn said. “The University of Georgia's a big-name school, you have incredible talent in your region, and then you throw in the portal. We talk about this as a coach all the time, you can get real good or real bad, real quick now, just the way you can do things, and Wes has done a great job.”