This post has been informatively updated.

Would like to announce that I have verbally committed to The university of Michigan #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/bgSbNCwHTE

— Antwuan Johnson (@Antwuan21) March 22, 2016

Michigan may not have added any prospects from Ohio in their 2016 class, but that's clearly not a trend we should expect to continue. Springfield (OH) ILB Antwuan Johnson, the #82 overall prospect on 247's early class of 2018 rankings, announced his commitment to Michigan yesterday after visiting campus last weekend with a couple fellow Ohio players, including potential five-star DE and Springfield teammate Leonard Taylor.

Johnson is the program's first 2018 commit. While a highly rated Ohio prospect committing early before receiving an Ohio State offer is often reason for trepidation, Johnson assured The Wolverine's Brandon Brown that Michigan's offer was the only one he needed to make this decision:

It's no secret that big-time prospects from Ohio usually go to Ohio State. Johnson is well aware of that but says that no matter what happens, he's 100% content with his decision.

"There’s really not a lot to say about that to be honest," he said. "It’s not a touchy situation with me. There isn’t any offer that would’ve changed my mind. When I went up to Michigan I had my mind set on it. No Ohio State offer or anything could’ve changed my mind.

Johnson added that he wants to lead the charge in recruiting several other Buckeye State prospects to Ann Arbor. It's early yet, but his commitment sounds quite firm.

GURU RATINGS

247 is the only scouting service that's released 2018 rankings so far. They regard Johnson as the #3 inside linebacker in the country and the #4 prospect in the state of Ohio.

Scout, Rivals, and 247 all list Johnson at 6'1", 210 pounds; ESPN has him at 6'0", 213. That's impressively stout for a rising junior and recent reports suggest he's a good deal bigger than his listings—possibly in the 6'2", 230-pound range. Johnson has more than enough size to play inside linebacker in Don Brown's system.

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SCOUTING

While the recruiting sites outside of 247 haven't posted full 2018 rankings, local Ohio recruiting gurus have put together some early top tens. Bucknuts' Bill Kurelic ranks Johnson sixth in the state. BuckeyeGrove's Mark Givler placed him seventh back in December:

Johnson is an active and physical inside linebacker prospect that simply finds the football. Kentucky and Louisiville have extended early scholarship offers. Ohio State, Michigan State, and more are showing early interest.

Givler also scouted one of Springfield's scrimmages last year and featured Johnson in his subsequent post, but the Rivals site update destroyed the formatting and removed all the text, which is rather important. Bummer.

Thankfully, Scout's main Ohio reporter, Bill Greene, posted an extensive free scouting report after Johnson's commitment. He sees Johnson as an old-school thumper:

First off, this is a kid that loves to hit people and you love that in a middle linebacker. Antwuan Johnson has the size and attitude to be a run-stopper in the middle, and plays with an enforcer mentality. He is a good tackler that does not miss very often. He is probably going to fill out and play at 240-pounds, and be a physically intimidating player at the next level. This is not a pretty athlete playing middle linebacker, rather Johnson is an old fashioned MIKE that will cause turnovers and stop the running game.

Greene's main concern is with Johnson's coverage, and that has as much to do with not seeing him play against the pass enough to form an opinion as any athletic limitations—Greene notes he and Allen Trieu were impressed with Johnson's lateral movement at a recent camp. He concludes thusly:

He will be a leader on and off the field for Jim Harbaugh, and he is going to be key in the recruitment of teammate Leonard Taylor as well. There isn't much risk with this player and Johnson has a very high floor. At worst, he's a first and second down run-stopper that provides a physical presence on the field. How good can he be? We don't know yet, but we do know with his work ethic he's going to reach his potential. 

Trieu dropped by The Victors Board to provide a quick evaluation after Johnson's commitment:

Had a chance to see him at Best of the Midwest last month and on tape.

The kid is thick. He's listed at 6'2, 218... I think he looked 230+ at Best of the Midwest.

He's a physical kid. Stocky, strong, and depending on how he grows, I could see him putting his hand down at the next level.

He's a good athlete, not a GREAT athlete IMO. He's a straight ahead, physical bull more than he is an in space guy right now.

It's so early, we'll have to see how his body and game continues to develop. Very productive.

Underclassman recruiting guru Jim Stefani mentioned on The Fort that he thinks Johnson is one of the best linebackers in the 2018 class:

He is a very good prospect. I have him ranked as one of the top 10 LBs in the 2018 class. Good size and athleticism. 87.45 SPARQ as a freshman with his size was outstanding.

There's still plenty of development to go, of course, but Johnson looks like he'll fit in Brown's defense as a run-stuffing MIKE.

OFFERS

Johnson holds offers from Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Louisville. Rivals lists interest but no offer from Iowa, Kansas, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Purdue.

HIGH SCHOOL

Springfield High School is of note for a few reasons. First, it's within an hour of Columbus. Second, the football program has produced its fair share of talent, headlined by former Alabama linebacker Trey DePriest. Third, they're coached by Maurice Douglass, who took the Springfield job after a long tenure at Trotwood-Madison in which he sent multiple players to Michigan:

Their high school coach, Maurice Douglass — a former Chicago Bears and New York Giants safety — was the head coach at Trotwood-Madison High School from 2001-14 and sent several players to Michigan, including Roy Roundtree, Michael Shaw, Brandon Moore, Mike McCray, and Reon Dawson. Last season, he left Trotwood to take over at Springfield, where he took over a team that hadn’t won more than two games in a season since 2010. The Wildcats went 3-7 last fall.

Johnson's 2018 teammate, DE Leonard Taylor, already holds both Michigan and OSU offers and will be a high priority for both schools.

STATS

According to 247, Johnson had 69 tackles and a forced fumble as a sophomore in 2015.

FAKE 40 TIME

Johnson's Hudl page lists a 4.79 40 time without naming the source. That's pretty reasonable; I'll give it two FAKEs out of five.

VIDEO

Sophomore highlights:

Freshman highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

It's far too early to do much projecting here. Johnson looks like a classic MIKE, which means he'll compete with Devin Bush Jr., Elysee Mbem-Bosse, 2017 commit Josh Ross, and others for a spot on the two-deep when he gets to campus.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Again, it's way too early to take a stab at what the 2018 class will look like. Johnson mentioned the players he'd like to recruit to Michigan to Brandon Brown:

"I want to bag some Ohio kids," he said. "I have a good relationship with a lot of Ohio kids. One person I’m not really close with is Mr. Jaelen Gill from Westerville South. I’m going to try and get in touch with him as much as I can though.

"Jackson Carman and L’Christian Smith, I grew up with those guys. Jackson and me have known each other since like third grade. I’ll reach out to him and try to get him to come up. I want to get a group of guys that can take Michigan to a national championship, from Ohio and all over."

Gill, an all-purpose back, is the top-ranked Ohio prospect in the 2018 class; Carman, an OT, is an early five-star on 247; Smith is a four-star ATH who stands at 6'6" and should be a jumbo receiver. Johnson will also recruit Taylor; the duo is slated to visit Ann Arbor for the Spring Game.