'14 FL LB Jakob Johnson (UT Signee 2/5/14)

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#176
#176
dschult2 said:
I'm not gonna argue circumstances that happened almost a year ago, but my opinion is he presented the info in a way that made it seem like our chances of getting Lawson were greater than they actually were, therefore I will take Uzzi's info with a grain of salt. Just my take. Anyone else is free to take his info however they like.
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Ron Swanson said:
How do you know what our chances really were?
Click to expand...

I said it was my opinion.
 
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#183
#183
Callahan just broke out a Crystal Ball prediction for Johnson to UT. Add that to Uzzi's statements, looks like this could be happening.
 
#186
#186
The kid has no other offers that should scare us. Predicting him to us is more about us wanting him than vice versa
 
#198
#198
Journey from Germany to Ribault quick, rewarding for Jakob Johnson
Linebacker has been in country less than three months, but already making a name for himself, Trojans
Posted: October 15, 2013 - 9:07pm | Updated: October 16, 2013 - 12:34am
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GARY McCULLOUGH/For the Times-Union
Ribault linebacker Jakob Johnson poses with coach Anthony Flynn at Ribault High School on Tuesday.
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GARY McCULLOUGH/For the Times-Union
Ribault linebacker Jakob Johnson was born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany.
By Justin Barney
Jakob Johnson heard the same thing over and over and over again.
Sure, kid, you look good on film. But if you want to play college football, then come prove yourself on American soil.
Done.
The Ribault linebacker hasn’t even been in the country three months, yet has become one of the most physical — and intriguing — players in the area.... Born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany, Johnson hadn’t planned on leaving his home, or his family, until the opportunity to chase his dream changed all of that.
Not only are the Trojans (4-2) poised to reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2010, Johnson, 18, has earned scholarship offers from a handful of programs, including Tennessee and Wisconsin.
“It’s really crazy how fast things are moving for me right now,” said Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound player who plans on graduating high school early and enrolling in college in January.
“I bought the plane ticket three weeks before I left and at the time I didn’t even [know] if I was going to find a high school to play for. ... I am really grateful for this opportunity.”
Johnson played football in Germany, although not on a traditional high school team since schools don’t have their own programs.
He spent five years playing on the junior level of the German Football League, most recently on the U19 Stuttgart Scorpions. The GFL has two tiers, its main division and the GFL 2. Below that is the Juniors, a 25-team league where players pay to play, much like they would in Pop Warner football.
Johnson wasn’t satisfied by just wanting to go the traditional route in Germany. He’d spent too many days watching college and NFL games on television and wanted to do what he could to give himself a chance at playing at the next level.
In the spring of 2012, Johnson met Tom Schneider, a former Ferris State quarterback who was playing in his rookie season with the Scorpions’ GFL team. Schneider said he thought Johnson played for the main Scorpions team, and was “shocked to find out he was only 17 and playing for our club’s Junior team.”
Later that season, Schneider said that he was contacted by college recruiters who were inquiring about overseas players. Johnson was one who stood out as being able to make that jump. The sticking point arose. Sure, Johnson looked like a man on film, but who were the guys he was playing against? Could he perform like that against players of similar skill sets?
“I passed on his name and film, but most of the college recruiters and coaches were understandably reluctant to offer a scholarship to a kid they knew so little about,” Schneider said. “Coaches wanted to see him play first.”
That set in motion an effort to get Johnson to America and onto a football field. Jacksonville came up because Johnson’s father is from the area and some of his family lives here. So on July 19, he arrived in town.
Proving himself on American soil had begun.
When Ribault coach Anthony Flynn saw that Johnson enrolled at school he was stunned, calling his arrival, and that of quarterback D.J. Gillins last spring, an “answered prayer.”
“The No. 1 thing was his ACT. I heard about that 27 [test score] on the ACT and I knew we had a special individual,” Flynn said. “When I actually see him on the football field, he looks like a warrior, the top of his head, his chest, he looks like a warrior. His relationship with everybody, he’s just a very pleasant kid. He’s the captain of the defense, just a well-rounded guy.”
Johnson knew that he could play football, although the change in the speed of the game and the crowds were something that he didn’t expect. And those major college offers, which began with an Idaho offer and soon included both Tennessee and Wisconsin? Totally took him by surprise.
“In Germany, there’s probably between 100 and 300 people at my games,” Johnson said. “Here, the number can go into the thousands. Ribault-Raines [on Nov. 9] I hear that’s going to be very big. What I didn’t expect were offers from such big schools, I didn’t expect that to happen. I figured I’d probably [be offered] in Division II, maybe FCS, but not from FBS schools.”
First Coast coach Marty Lee said that Johnson “solidified” the Trojans’ defense much like Gillins, a Wisconsin commit, has done for the Ribault offense. Johnson had nine tackles and forced a pair of turnovers in a 17-9 win over Baker County on Sept. 20, a win that could ultimately send the Trojans on to the state playoffs.
“I think that kid’s legit, I think he’s got a lot of football still to learn, but at the same time, it’s cliché, I know, but he’s just got a nose for the football,” Baker coach Ryan Sulkowski said. “It looks like he’s playing off natural ability right now. But getting to the next level, he has all the tools.”
Johnson said football here has been everything he hoped it would be and then some.
“I’m really excited for the rest of the season,” he said. “Yes, I am ready to see my family. I have two little sisters [1 and 2 years old], so my parents are likely to stay in Germany [when he goes to college]. I’ll be home for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I really miss my sisters. I’m looking forward to seeing them and then getting in to college as fast as possible.”


Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/sports/foot...t-quick-rewarding-jakob-johnson#ixzz2k5fJtDgJ
 
#200
#200
Help me out guys. What's the deal with this prospect. He's 2* on Rivals, 4* on 247 and not even rated on ESPN. He runs a 4.8 40, and is not incredibly strong with a 310 bench and 425 on squat. I watched his Hudl and he seems OK but not great. Is he a take to play in the SEC? is there something about that 40 that may not be accurate? I just don't see it on this one.

Edit: Just saw the post above. That explains some of it. He has good size and it's good that he seems like a really good kid. Only 3 months playing in the state may explain some of his film stuff.
 
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