Tag: Isaiah Johnson

LeBron, D-Wade congratulate Isaiah Johnson on committing to Colorado

Isaiah Johnson heard from multiple NBA stars soon after announcing his commitment to Colorado

Soon after announcing his commitment to Colorado men’s basketball on Thursday, California hooper Isaiah Johnson heard from several current and former NBA players, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

On Johnson’s Instagram page, James and Wade both congratulated the class of 2025 point guard, who they endearingly referred to as “nephew.” Johnson also received comments from Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland, Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, Detriot Pistons forward Tobias Harris and James’ son, Bryce.

A three-star prospect according to 247Sports, Johnson is the son of notorious basketball trainer Chris Johnson. The elder Johnson has worked closely with LeBron James and other notable NBA players.

Isaiah Johnson, listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, represents Colorado’s first class of 2025 commitment. He also owns offers from Denver, New Mexico State, Rice, San Diego, UC Davis and other Division I programs.

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Cardinals had virtual meeting with Syracuse DB Isaiah Johnson

Johnson, Garrett Williams’ college teammate, has had conversations with the Cardinals in the predraft process.

The Arizona Cardinals, as all NFL teams have been doing, have been meeting with and evaluating scores of NFL draft prospects. They have hosted players for top-30 meetings, held meetings at the NFL combine and other all-star games, they have visited them at their schools and talked to players via Zoom in virtual meetings.

One player they have met with virtually is Syracuse defensive back Isaiah Johnson, he told The Draft Network’s Justin Melo.

Johnson is a 6-foot-2 cornerback who can also play some safety and weighs 205 pounds. He projects more as a safety in the NFL. He did not run a great 40 at the combine (4.64 seconds) but posted a 38.5-inch vertical leap and 129-inch broad jump.

Of his performance at the combine, he told Melo, “I was definitely satisfied with my overall performance. Obviously, I was hoping to run a better 40 time, but we don’t play football in a straight line at the end of the day. In terms of the drills that I feel like really translate over, especially when it came to the position drills, I thought I handled myself appropriately.”

He played two seasons for Syracuse after transferring from Dartmouth. He was teammates with Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams.

In two seasons for the Orangemen, he collected 110 tackles, two interceptions, seven pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Keep an eye on him on Day 3 of the draft or as a potential undrafted free agent target for Arizona.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Lions met recently with the potential next Ifeatu Melifonwu

Lions met recently with Syracuse DB Isaiah Johnson, who has a similar collegiate resume as Detroit’s Ifeatu Melifonwu

Length is always a coveted asset for defensive backs in the NFL. The Detroit Lions secondary could use some in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft, and they have checked out one of the longest DBs in the class, Isaiah Johnson of Syracuse.

At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Johnson brings a lot of length to the table. Per Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Lions met with Johnson at his pro day recently.

The length comes with a tradeoff with Johnson, one that likely limits his NFL role: speed. Johnson has an outstanding initial burst, but the speed fades quickly. His 40-yard dash started out with a blazing 1.55-second 10-yard split, but waned into a lousy 4.84 overall 40. The lack of long speed shows (though not to that dramatic extent) on Johnson’s film as an outside corner for Syracuse, too.

Because of his length, quick burst and strong tackling, Johnson is likely viewed as a safety in the NFL. The Lions do have some experience with a player like this already in Ifeatu Melifonwu, though “Iffy” had better playing speed. Like Johnson, Melifonwu played outside cornerback at Syracuse.  It leads to inevitable comparisons with Detroit’s 2021 third-round pick, though Johnson typically is not projected to be selected before the 6th round.

Titans met with Syracuse DB Isaiah Johnson at pro day

The Titans met with DB Isaiah Johnson at the Syracuse Pro Day last month.

We can add another 2024 NFL draft prospect to the list of players the Tennessee Titans have met with ahead of this month’s event.

According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Titans met with Syracuse defensive back Isaiah Johnson at the program’s pro day last month.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound defensive back was a team captain at Syracuse and offers versatility, as he could play either cornerback or safety at the next level, which is a good fit for defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who wants flexibility out of his defensive backs.

Over his last two collegiate seasons, Johnson tallied 115 tackles, nine passes defensed and two interceptions in 25 contests.

The Titans have done a fantastic job shoring up the top of their depth chart at the cornerback position, with the additions of L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie, both of whom join slot corner Roger McCreary.

However, Tennessee could use more depth at the position, and they also have question marks at safety, both in terms of a starting spot and depth.

Via Kent Lee Platte, RAS.Football

The best-case scenario for Johnson is being drafted later on Day 3, but he may also be available as an undrafted free agent, where he’d be sure to garner some interest.

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A broadcaster absolutely lost it as Portland State hit a stupefying buzzer-beater over Northern Arizona

You HAVE to hear the call on this incredible buzzer-beater.

The Portland State men’s basketball team won on one of the most spellbinding buzzer-beaters you’re likely to see this season on Saturday against Northern Arizona.

With just 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation, the Vikings inbounded the ball as they trailed the Lumberjacks 88-87.

Portland State sophomore forward Isaiah Johnson caught the long pass and inexplicably banked it immediately as time expired, giving the Vikings the improbable win.

Johnson’s game-winning bucket cleared the Portland State bench and inspired an absolutely delightful broadcast call.

With the Vikings the underdog on the moneyline (+120), Portland State bettors got a nice little boost with Johnson’s phenomenal shot.

Well, if that buzzer-beater doesn’t get you excited, we’re not sure what will.

Johnson will surely remember this game-winning bucket for a long time, and bettors might really want to keep an eye out on Portland State for the rest of the season if they’ve got this kind of luck.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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Top available college football transfer portal defensive ends

Top available college football transfer portal defensive ends #GoBucks

The Ohio State Buckeyes were rough on defense last season despite being a recruiting juggernaut. However, it is entirely possible that newly hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is going to want more help on the defensive line. With the lack of pass rush that we witnessed last season, adding some decent help on the edge is not the worst idea.

The inception of the transfer portal has created a bit of a free agency period in college football. It has created a brand new world — some good, some bad — that we won’t get into right now.

Instead, here are the top five defensive ends left in the portal during the 2021 offseason of college football.

Cardinals officially add pair of CBs to practice squad

The Cardinals added Isaiah Johnson and Nate Brooks to the practice squad.

The Arizona Cardinals were reportedly going to add cornerback Isaiah Johnson to the practice squad. The team made that reported move official, announcing that Johnson and cornerback Nate Brooks were added to the practice squad.

The Cardinals need bodies at cornerback with Robert Alford on injured reserve, Marco Wilson nursing a shoulder injury and Breon Borders landing on the COVID list.

Johnson played collegiately at Houston and was drafted by the Raiders in the fourth round in 2019.

He played two seasons for them. Last season, he played in 14 games, had 13 tackles and four pass breakups. He played 127 special teams snaps and 181 defensive snaps.

He has size at 6-2, 210 lbs.

Brooks should ring a bell for some Cardinals fans. He entered the NFL with the Cardinals in 2019 as an undrafted rookie out of North Texas. The 6-foot, 192-lb cornerback has played in four career games (two starts) with Miami (2019) and Baltimore (2020) and has 11 tackles and two pass breakups. The 25-year old Brooks has also spent time on the practice squads of the Patriots, Ravens and Titans in his career.

Don’t expect either to be elevated and activated for the game on Sunday. The Cardinals protected Kevin Peterson and Jace Whittaker. Since Wilson is not expected to be available, the playing rotation will likely be Byron Murphy, Antonio Hamilton and Peterson, whither Whittaker playing on special teams.

The NFL transaction list also showed the Cardinals re-signed running back Tavien Feaster to the practice squad. It was an unannounced move, but he had been released from the practice squad earlier in the week.

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Cardinals adding CB Isaiah Johnson to practice squad

Johnson is a 6-2, 210-lb cornerback who played two seasons for the Raiders.

The Arizona Cardinals are thin at cornerback because of the injuries to Robert Alford, who is on injured reserve, and Marco Wilson, who suffered a shoulder injury last weekend.

They tried to sign Bashaud Breeland, only to have him test positive for COVIS-19.

They are adding another cornerback to the practice squad.

According to Aaron Wilson, they are signing former Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Isaiah Johnson.

Johnson played collegiately at Houston and was drafted by the Raiders in the fourth round in 2019.

He played two seasons for them. Last season, he played in 14 games, had 13 tackles and four pass breakups. He played 127 special teams snaps and 181 defensive snaps.

He has size at 6-2, 210 lbs.

He will give them another body for practice on the scout team, but it is possible he is elevated to at least play on special teams.

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Ravens work out three defensive backs, sign two to practice squad

The Ravens worked out three defensive backs and signed two to their practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens have seen their defensive back room be decimated by injuries well before the 2021 season began. They lost cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Khalil Dorsey for the season, and have since seen other players in their secondary go down throughout the year and miss time such as safety Deshon Elliott and cornerback Jimmy Smith.

On Wednesday, the team worked out three defensive backs in Blake Countess, Robert Jackson and Isaiah Johnson. They signed both Countess and Jackson to their practice squad, while moving kicker Jake Verity to the practice squad/injured list. They had one open spot on their practice squad before the moves.

Countess has spent time with three teams ever since his NFL career started back in 2016 and has accumulated 57 total tackles, two interceptions and one sack. He was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2016 draft.

Jackson went undrafted in 2018, and signed with the Indianapolis Colts. He’s appeared in 16 NFL games (all with the Cleveland Browns), and has nine total tackles in his career.

Johnson started 14 games for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, putting up 15 total tackles and four passes defended.

 

Colts hold tryout for 7 players

Jahleel Addae and Damarious Randall were among the seven players who worked out for the Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts held a tryout for seven players on Monday, five of which were defensive backs and the other two players being tight ends, per the league’s transaction wire.

With injuries hitting the cornerback and safety rooms, it’s no surprise the Colts are working out defensive backs. They need to find all the depth they can after BoPete Keyes left with a hamstring injury and Xavier Rhodes played through a calf injury he suffered during pregame warmups.

The players that tried out for the Colts include:

  • S Jahleel Addae
  • TE Nick Eubanks
  • S Rashaan Gaulden
  • CB Isaiah Johnson
  • DB Damarious Randall
  • TE Eli Wolf

It will be interesting to see if any of these players are added to the practice squad as the Colts are currently running with a safety room led by Khari Willis and Andrew Sendejo.

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