Tag: LJ Johnson

Texas Football Recruiting: Four-star running back L.J. Johnson announces top four

Texas has made the top four for 2021 prospect L.J. Johnson. A four-star running back LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M join the Longhorns.

Texas has made the top four for 2021 prospect L.J. Johnson. A four-star running back out of Cy-Fair, Texas, LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M join the Longhorns on Johnson’s list.

According to 247Sports composite, Johnson ranks No. 42 nationally, the No. 4 running back, and No. 7 in the state of Texas. Only Camar Wheaton ranks better as an in-state running back than Johnson.

Listed at 5-10, 204 pounds, Johnson is a do it all type of back. He ran a verified 4.42 40-yard dash at ‘The Opening’ in March of 2019. Before his junior year of high school, the four-star already possessed NFL type speed.

Johnson was named Texas AP Class 6A second-team all-state in 2019, rushing for 1,951 yards and 37 touchdowns on 206 carries. That averages out to a ridiculous 9.5 yards per carry.

An already crowded running back room, Johnson would only add to the depth the Longhorns store. Going into the 2020 season, Keaontay Ingram, Roschon Johnson, and Bijan Robinson will be the main backs. With Johnson and Robinson being underclassmen, Ingram is the only back in danger of leaving for the NFL Draft.

If all three return, the Longhorns would possess a top running back room in the Big 12. Add in Johnson as a true freshman, and Texas could have one of the best position groups in the country.

The 2021 recruiting class already has a running back commit, with three-star Jonathan Brooks. The No. 27 running back on the 247Sports composite, Brooks has been committed to Texas since May.

Related: Texas Longhorns 2021 commit has big game in season opener

As things stand, Texas A&M will stand as the biggest threat to the Longhorns securing Johnson’s commitment. The Aggies were seen as the early favorite for the blue-chip back but Stan Drayton has been making progress on Johnson over the summer.

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Texas Football Recruiting: Where does the 2021 offensive class sit now?

Three months away from early signing day, blue-chip players are still available. Here is an update on the offensive 2021 recruiting class:

Recruiting is in an unusual place right now, with coaches and scouts having to work overtime to get information on high school athletes. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it tougher for schools to evaluate top players in the country.

Texas has done a decent job keeping up, currently sitting with the No. 15 overall recruiting class according to 247Sports. The Longhorns have commitments from four top 200 players, including five-star athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Looking specifically at the offensive side of the ball, Texas has seven commits, with offensive tackle Hayden Connor being the highest rated. Tom Herman still has some work to do, needing another player or two to solidify the class.

Nearly three months away from the early signing period, blue-chip players such as Camar Wheaton, L.J. Johnson, Savion Byrd, and Ketron Johnson are still up for grabs. If Texas wants to sneak into the top 10 nationally, at least two of those players must land in Austin.

Here is your latest position by position update on the offensive recruiting class:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Texas target and top running back in state trending towards Oklahoma

Texas target Camar Wheaton is now trending to the rivals across the river, Oklahoma. Wheaton is second-ranked back in the nation.

During the last recruiting cycle the Texas Longhorns were able to snag the top running back in the country. According to 247Sports composite rankings, Bijan Robinson was the best of the best. The five-star composite runner is expected to a part of the offense in 2020 but will have to earn snaps behind Keaontay Ingram and Roschon Johnson.

This year’s top target was Lakeview Centenial’s Camar Wheaton. He is also a five-star composite prospect much like Bijan was. Wheaton is the second-ranked running back in the country and top back in the state of Texas. The Longhorns have been in the running for him to come to Austin and provide a two-headed monster for the next few seasons.

The LSU Tigers, SMU Mustangs and Oklahoma Sooners are among the top contenders for his commitment. However recent trends indicate that the Sooners are leading the charge to secure him. The 247Sports staff recently put in their crystal ball predictions with  everyone picking Oklahoma.

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Crystal ball predictions aren’t the end all for Texas. Recently they were projected to land transfer linebacker from Arizona Tony Fields II, but he ended up heading to West Virginia. Even with the news of Wheaton trending to the team across the river, the Longhorns have another running back trending their way with L.J. Johnson.

Robinson has been communicating with Johnson to bring in another weapon for the Longhorns offense. Provided that he has a big season in 2020, Bijan could be the man leading the charge moving forward. As far as Wheaton, there has been no indication of him making an announcement prior to National Signing Day.

Four-star running back LJ Johnson now trending towards Texas

Cy-Fair standout running back LJ Johnson is now trending towards Texas in 247Sports’ Crystal Ball Predictions.

In a disheartening day for the college football community, Texas is receiving optimistic news from a recruiting standpoint. Continue reading “Four-star running back LJ Johnson now trending towards Texas”

Texas continues to heavily target four-star running back from Cypress

Texas coaches, players have been pushing the hardest for four-star running back LJ Johnson.

Texas is pulling out all the stops to land four-star running back LJ Johnson. Continue reading “Texas continues to heavily target four-star running back from Cypress”

Rivals: Irish in on top RB’s but not seen as leaders

Notre Dame has offered many backs in the 2021 cycle and face uphill battles to gain a commitment from one of them.

There is a lot of unknown as to who will lineup beside quarterback Ian Book for the 2020 season. What we do know is that after this year, the Irish will graduate Jafar Armstrong, Avery Davis, and Stanford transfer Trevor Speights, although each of them could petition the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. If both opt to move on, the roster would only have 4 scholarship backs remaining.

This probably isn’t a number Brian Kelly and running back’s coach Lance Taylor want to see, so getting a quality running back in the 2021 is extremely important. Rivals took a look at the best 5 remaining uncommitted backs and the Irish have offered all but one of them.

The Irish have offered Texas’ Camar Wheaton, but at this moment he is viewed as a pipedream for Notre Dame. Mike Farrell, Rivals national director of recruiting, see Oklahoma as the leader in Wheaton’s recruitment. Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, however, is a much more realistic possibility for the Irish. Edwards had intended to visit multiple schools over the summer, but COVID-19 has stopped everyone from visiting schools. Although Farrell sees Michigan as the leader for Edwards, he also sees the back’s recruitment to drag on for a few more months prior to a commitment. If the Irish push hard for Edwards, I could see him spurning the Wolverines and heading a bit south to South Bend.

Like Wheaton, another Texas star in LJ Johnson has an Irish offer, but Notre Dame is not seen as a player in his recruitment. Prophet Brown, a California prospect, is a back that I really think could be a great fit in the Irish offense. Unfortunately, like Edwards, the Irish are trailing in Brown’s recruitment to the supposed leader in Oklahoma. Here is the kicker, the Sooners are in on Wheaton and are looking at Brown as more of a defensive back. These two factors could play a huge role in the Irish being able to get Brown’s attention and ultimately land a commitment from the back.

Getting a quality back in this class is paramount, the depth needs to be addressed. It could be another graduate transfer like Speights or the Irish could land one these talented backs. Look for Notre Dame to make a push for a 2021 back to create some solid depth for Taylor’s group.

Another Notre Dame offer out to an top ’21 Running Back

That’s two days in a row for the Irish staff looking towards the Lone Star State for running back help.

The search for a class of 2021 running back for the Irish continues after yesterday saw Texas’ Alton McCaskill get an offer, today it was another Texan getting an offer in Johnathan (LJ) Johnson.

With Brian Kelly losing out on North Carolina’s Will Shipley, there has been a huge focus on securing an elite running back for the class. Johnson checks a lot of boxes with a 5’10” and 200-pound frame and his offer list shows he’s one of the country’s most wanted backs. Johnson holds offers from Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas and now the Irish have joined the fold. Johnson is ranked as the 43rd overall prospect nationally and 4th running back by the 247Sports composite.

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Johnson isn’t going to blow by many defenders but takes great angles due to his exceptional vision. He has a nose for the endzone and is a bruiser, punishing the opposing team running through arm tackles.

Kelly and his staff went all in for Shipley and came up second in his recruitment, which means they have to make some inroads with running backs they weren’t heavily recruiting. Multiple offers have gone out in the last two days to back as they continue to find who will fit in best with the 2021 class. A talent like Johnson’s would be more than welcomed into the Irish’s running back room.

Michigan State Football offers No. 3 2021 running back LJ Johnson Jr.

Mel Tucker has offered one of the top running backs in the 2021 recruiting class a scholarship in Texas rusher LJ Johnson.

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New Michigan State Football head coach Mel Tucker has a reputation as a strong recruiter that goes all the way back to his time with Ohio State in the mid-2000s, and while we have not yet seen the fruits of those talents yet in East Lansing, he has already made some big recruiting swings out of the gate. On Monday night, the number three running back in the 2021 recruiting class announced that he has received a scholarship offer from the Spartans.

Johnson is ranked number thirty in the 2021 class according to 247sports and he is the number four ranked player in the state of Texas. This might be a bit of a hail mary pass as Johnson has offers from pretty much every team in the country including LSU and Georgia, but you have to love the confidence and aggressiveness from Tucker’s recruiting process.

This comes just one day after the number twelve ranked player in the state of Texas (according to 247sports’ rankings) QB Kaidon Salter announced that he also received an offer from MSU and Mel Tucker.

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