An up-and-coming running back prospect from the Peach State, who has recently started to see his recruitment pick up this spring and summer, participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp last month.
Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy’s Christian Johnson — a 6-foot-2, 203-pound rising junior in the class of 2024 – camped at Clemson on June 2.
“I would say that this camp was definitely the hardest camp that I’ve done,” Johnson told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Friday. “I’d say that I liked it though because it felt like practice and you can actually see what’s going on at Clemson and the drills they’re doing.”
Even though it might’ve been one more difficult camps that Johnson has participated in, the Peach State running back felt like there were a lot of tangible things, like how to keep the ball tucked in, that he was able to take away. Those are things that Johnson knew how to do per se, but at that level, it’s something you have to do constantly.
Johnson spoke highly of CJ Spiller and was appreciative of just how straight up Clemson’s running backs coach was with him. Spiller wasn’t going to lie to Johnson. When he told him what he thought of his game, he was straight up with him.
With that said, what type of feedback did Johnson receive from Spiller?
“He walked me around the school and he kind of talked to me about it,” Johnson recalled. “He basically said that he had watched my film and he liked it. He said that I was young and that he could tell that there are definitely things that I can still work on. I’m still learning, but he liked where I was at and what I was doing.”
Spiller has yet to dole out an offer to a running back in the class of 2024, so we asked Johnson what it would mean for him to add an offer to his list from a school like Clemson.
“That would be big,” he said regarding a potential scholarship offer. “It would be amazing. (Getting an offer from a) school like that at the ACC would be a big thing for me for sure.”
Johnson added his first offer from the University of South Florida back in January. This past spring, Johnson picked up offers from FAU, Grambling State, Indiana and Arkansas State. When he picked up his first Power Five offer from the Hoosiers, it was right after he was taking his Advanced Placement exam for AP European History.
Talk about a change in emotions.
“It was definitely a big deal knowing that all the work that I put in during my sophomore year was finally paying off a little bit,” Johnson said.
Additionally, Johnson mentioned that he’s spoken to Georgia Tech’s running backs coach, Mike Daniels, while Duke has also asked him to come by a couple of times. Johnson is hopeful that Sept. 1 will be big for him and his recruitment.
“It’s pretty good,” Johnson said regarding his current recruitment. “I got a couple of offers earlier this school year, so that was pretty cool. I’m just starting my college recruiting off and it’s an experience and I’m liking it — traveling around to schools and doing camps and everything. I’m just excited about my junior year. I got a lot to show, a lot of film and I’m gonna go places this year. It’s gonna be a lot this year, but I’m excited.
Johnson isn’t your average or normal running back. He’s a self-described downhill runner, who can run the ball play after play and pick up five yards per carry. Johnson is a taller running back, who’s gonna get his shoulders down and do everything he can to help move the chains.
— Photo for this article courtesy of Christian Johnson.
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