Hello: Quinten Johnson
Committapalooza continues unabated with the addition of DC S Quinten Johnson, another East Coast three-star with solid offers, great testing numbers, an Opening invite, and few explanations about how those things go together. C'est la vie. Amongst Michigan's recent commits Johnson vies for the most underrated, at least for now.
GURU RATINGS
247 | ESPN | Rivals | Composite |
3*, #484 overall #37 S, #3 DC |
3*, 79 #38 S, #5 DC |
3*, 5.7 #24 S, #4 DC |
3*, #469 overall #37 S, #4 DC |
Hey... at least everybody rated him? It sounds like Johnson is likely to surge on 24/7, which recently named him a "top sleeper prospect" after an impressive camp appearance. This... this is a four star.
...shined on both sides of the ball as a junior. He’s a difference-maker at receiver that also shined at cornerback and safety in the secondary. ... the eighth-highest Nike Football Rating [nationally] ...dynamic ability shows up on the field as a stretch-the-field receiver, one who can make something after the catch or on the other side of the ball put a blanket on a receiver or fly to the action.
FWIW, Johnson is the highest possible three star on Rivals—the #23 S is a four-star. ESPN actually has a ranking for him, but nothing else.
[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and more.]
SCOUTING
As per usual there's not a ton out there on Johnson but at least in his case there's the prospect of getting some serious scouting in the future. That's because this rando three-star safety is currently at the Opening on the strength of this camp performance:
He started the day off with a bang and had the top testing score in the event with a 125.70 Rating. At a rocked out 5-11, 195 pounds, Johnson clocked a 4.48-40, 4.17 shuttle, threw the power ball 47.5’ and jumped 35” in the vertical.
He was equally impressive in the position and one on one drills and showed the ability to play corner or safety. He has a safety frame but showed very good feet and quickness and plays with a nice physical edge to his game.
He was the DB MVP of that camp, which was in Las Vegas and littered with touted guys. He'll play safety at the Opening, but FWIW P5 schools like Arizona did offer him as a wide receiver. Per Johnson, Michigan is recruiting him as a viper, and he certainly sounds like one:
...very impressive. Being from the East Coast, this was our first time seeing Johnson and he really flashed. He's a thick kid who is built like a safety but showed very good feet and polish working out with the corners. We know he can also play some receiver but worked out exclusively at DB and showed a lot of natural talent
Also:
...safety build but showed off some of the best feet among all the corners. Johnson can run but is also fluid in how he plays, has the physicality to bully opposing receivers and is a plus athlete with a ton of positional versatility.
Naturally, this is a person being compared to Jabrill Peppers.
“Don Brown laid out a presentation and he basically compared me to (Jabrill Peppers),” Johnson said. “They want me to go the same route as Jabrill did and play at rover, and then work my way to that viper position.
“They said if I pick it up pretty fast I would go to viper, and if not I would start out at rover and then go to viper. They want me to be as similar to Jabrill Peppers as I can.”
Rover is the strong safety spot currently occupied by Josh Metellus, FWIW. If Michigan scores a hit with Joey Velazquez, Johnson has backup options at safety and even outside corner. Also maybe WR. Probably as part of the whole "Peppers!" bit, Michigan mentioned playing both ways to him.
FWIW, an early take from Scout is now obsolete:
Quinten Johnson, WR/DB (5-10.5, 190): Johnson plays both ways for St. John’s, but we figure he’ll be a corner or safety at the next level. He has above-average ball skills, field awareness and is physical in coverage. He’s not the fastest skill player around and could have problems recovering, but Johnson can stick with most wideouts. He’ll need to iron out his footwork, change of direction and other fundamental areas.
He's obviously improved from early viewings and should probably get a bump as long as he holds his own at the Opening.
Rivals, for its part, says he's "just scratching the surface of his potential."
OFFERS
Penn State, BC, Maryland, UVA, and Syracuse are Johnson's main offers.
Also, Johnson supposedly got an Alabama offer. Normally I would dismiss this since Alabama is notorious for calling an invitation to camp an "offer," but in Johnson's case that offer came four weeks ago... at Bama's camp. That offer generated exactly zero discussion from Bama mods even when they had one of those running camp threads, but at worst that's a conditional you're-like-fourth-on-our-board thing, right?
HIGH SCHOOL
Michigan almost had a teammate of Johnson's last year at St John's College High but QB Kevin Doyle bailed late in the cycle for Arizona.
DOES HE LIKE GUNS 'N' ROSES THO
Yes?
I guess?
STATS
None I could find.
FAKE 40 TIME
Johnson has solid track speed—a 11.2 PR in the 100 meter dash—and runs sub-4.5 40s at electronically timed camps. Two fakes? I think two.
VIDEO
A lot of wide receiver video in there but Johnson does stack and shed a couple times, which is not super common for high school players, and displays the occasional bit of blitzy edge violence that is the viper's calling card. He'd be a great WR prospect if he was 6'2".
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
This is not a three-star to get exercised about. Johnson has a great SPARQ score, was camp averse until he showed up at an Opening Regional that got him a ticket to the main show despite his low profile, and has some variety of genuine Bama offer after camping there. He's got a number of upward pointing arrows; a dollar says that 24/7 moves him into their top 300 in their post-Opening re-rank.
Johnson looks like a clean viper fit but unlike recent addition Joey Velazquez, his raw athleticism gives him more versatility. He could play a half-dozen different spots and is likely to break through at one of them sooner or later, with strong safety the most likely backup plan. He'll play somewhere as a multi-year starter.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
I... think we might be done in the near future? The upshot for the rest of the class is that it's now full on viper sorts unless Michigan picks up another guy like Johnson with significant positional flexibility. With the dust settling we'll get cracking on an overview of what's left for 2019.
A 3-star? Everyone panic!
Welcome Quinten, way to GoBlue!
Michigan is also apparently recruiting Lewis Cine at Viper. It seems their philosophy is recruit great athletes at viper and if they don't win that spot, they can move either to LB or S full time. Not a bad way to accumulate talent
I wonder what this means for Cine's recruitment. I have to assume he is still a take.
Most definitely. They want 2-3 safeties and are pursuing Lewis Cine, Daxton Hill, and Josh Sanguinetti hard. Getting 1 of 3 would be great as it is. Getting 2 of 3 would be amazing.
If this recruiting blitz is indicative of what's going on with the rest of the program, and I think that it is, then we are going to see Michigan at the next level up this fall. I think Harbaugh was mortified by what happened last season and he has got this whole thing locked in. And I bet he's game planning for the Buckeyes and MSU every damn day.
It's been emphasized
An excerpt from Brian's war diary during The Great Committing:
Dearest MGoWife,
It has been many long months since the start of commitapalooza. Commander Anbender and I fear our fingers may fall off due to overuse. Hardly a day goes by without another Hello post, sometimes multiple a day. Luckily we often expect the appearance of commitments and can work to prepare ourselves better, however sometimes they come as if from the ether. We rejoice in these opportunities to celebrate with the Alma Mater, but would very much like a moment to rest, eat, and maybe take a nap. We shan't rest however, for commitments come in seemingly endless waves.
Give my love to young Denard.
Gen. B. Cook
Best post evah!
I’m reading this with a southern drawl. Outstanding!
With a plaintive fiddle tune in the background, and images fading in and out, Ken Burns-style.
At some point you have to wonder if Don Brown is considering a defense consisting of 10 VIPERs and Michael Dwumfour. We're not at that point yet, but it's out there.
How about Gary, Winnovich, Dwumfour, plus 8 vipers? That I'd like to see.
Another best post evah! (first was Civil War letter, this one about Dwumfour and 10 vipers another)
Me too. The amount of confusion you could cause when every player is capable of hanging with WRs and every player is capable of cutting into the backfield for a sack or a TFL. It would be a thing of beauty.
We'll take all your twitchy 'tweeners and make a defense out of them.
All your Viper are belong to us.
Why'd it have to be snakes?
A month ago, I was worried the summer would drag on. These commitments are making the days sail by.
Really great athlete and looks like a good fit for Viper. I do wonder why he wasn't scouted more before now, as he plays at a pretty successful school in the DMV area.
Is it just me or FINALLY Michigan has the depth everywhere. Seemingly every year there is XYZ position is thin. Feels like now we are locked and loaded, and while I hate the 'wait till next year' gah gah as anyone, but we have the depth to go toe to toe with top teams.
Go Blue!
If we don't pick up a WR in this class that will be important next year, but otherwise, it seems like Harbaugh will finally be able to fill a class exactly the way he wants to.
This kid's athleticism and skill clearly indicate he's under-ranked. Speaking of that, it seems that ratings are not nearly as timely and comprehensive as they have been in the past. As one who does not follow it too closely, has there been downturn in the industry? And if this continues, does the star system become less reliable?
This kid's athleticism and skill clearly indicate he's under-ranked. Speaking of that, it seems that ratings are not nearly as timely and comprehensive as they have been in the past. As one who does not follow it too closely, has there been downturn in the industry? And if this continues, does the star system become less reliable?
3*s and a cloud of dust baby.....
You guys are killing it with these prompt and thorough Hellos!
This is clearly Harbaugh's new recruiting tactic... go full press on promising 3 stars before they get a potential rating bump that the powerhouse recruiting programs usually wait for before they go hard after a less heralded player. It's a little risky but could pay off big time if a few turn out to be all Americans. It will be interesting to see what transpires with the players that do get big ranking bumps in the fall and how they react when the OSU's and Alabama's start potentially poking around. Apparently Harb got sick of losing recruiting battles for elite prospects that aren't named DPJ or Gary.
A simpler theory: Michigan does its own scouting and they like these players.
You are trying too hard....
You’re a douche
Finally someone nailed it!
This quote ... "He started the day off with a bang and had the top testing score in the event with a 125.70 Rating. At a rocked out 5-11, 195 pounds, Johnson clocked a 4.48-40, 4.17 shuttle, threw the power ball 47.5’ and jumped 35” in the vertical." I mean that is crazy good for a safety. Sign him up ASAP!!!
"Needs to work on change of direction ..."
"4.17 Shuttle"
Wur
Add Quinten to the list of underrated Michigan recruits. He’s quick and fast, strong, and has good ball skills. He has some technique to clean up, but his athleticism is near elite. Here are the other guys due for a ratings bump, IMO:
- George Johnson III (rating only makes sense if you really think he’s a QB)
- Joey Velazquez (rating only makes sense if you think he’s not going to play football at all)
- David Ojabo (dude has Rashan Gary like speed and quickness)
- DJ Turner (Jack of all trades skill set seems to be hurting his ranking)
All five of these players have at least plus athleticism to compete at the college level. Ojabo and QJ have elite athleticism, while GJ and Velazquez have some unique traits and DJ has athleticism plus technique.
It will be interesting to see where they all finish in the rankings.
Alright this kids film is awesome on both sides of the ball!!
I am so fired up about this class right now.
Program depth is happening.
Just a lowly lurker who cannot upvote, logging in to salute you.
Oops, supposed to be Re: WGoNerd.
...don't mind this destitue, insufferable, pauper-ass commenter.
December 24th, 2018 at 2:37 PM ^
Good get!
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