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ECU eyes pass blocking role for S.C. star
Victor Johnson's soft
commitment leaves door open for courting by other schools
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By
Sammy Batten
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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As a taller kid growing up in North
Augusta, SC, Victor Johnson naturally gravitated toward basketball. But
Johnson's involvement in that sport eventually led him to the football
field where the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder has developed into major-college
caliber player in a short time.
The third-year varsity veteran at
North Augusta High School played his first season on the offensive line
as a junior and showed such potential that schools like Appalachian
State, Furman and James Madison came through with early scholarship
offers. But it was the East Carolina Pirates that extended the first
scholarship offer in February, and eventually gained his verbal
commitment June 21 while Johnson was on campus for an unofficial visit.
"It was definitely the coaching
staff,'' Johnson said when asked about his reasons for choosing ECU.
"I've developed a good relationship being around them and I can tell
they're good people.''
Johnson was especially impressed with
his chief recruiters, offensive line coach Brandon Jones and recruiting
coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick. "They are really down to Earth guys who
made me feel at home,'' Johnson added.
In Johnson, the Pirates are getting
one of the top prospects in the Class of 2015 from South Carolina.
247Sports.com rates him the No. 39 prospect in the Palmetto State, while
Athlete's Vault has him at No. 44. Jim Baxter of SCVarsity.com and
recruiting columnist for The State newspaper in Columbia, SC, recently
had Johnson rated the fifth-best blocking prospect in the state.
Those rankings followed a junior
season in which Johnson played a major role for a state playoff North
Augusta squad that scored 40 points in 10 of 14 games. The performance
earned Johnson second-team All-South Carolina Area honors from the
Augusta Chronicle and All-Region status.
That's not too shabby for a guy who
only started playing competitive football in middle school.
Prior to that time, Johnson was
focused on basketball and was a serious competitor in the Amateur
Athletic Union ranks. It was late one summer while playing with his AAU
squad that several teammates mentioned playing middle school football.
"They were having to leave AAU to
start conditioning for football at the middle school,'' Johnson said. "I
wanted to join in, so I went along with them. I really enjoyed it and
that's how I got started.
"I kind of developed slowly because
they moved me around to so many positions in middle school. First I was
a receiver and a safety, then they moved me to tight end. By my
eighth-grade year I was more of a tight end and defensive end.''
The coaches at North Augusta High
clearly recognized Johnson's potential because they moved the
then-defensive end up to the varsity for the playoffs at the end of his
freshman season. A year later Johnson was part of a defensive end
rotation for a team that went 9-4 and advanced to the second round of
the state playoffs.
But it wasn't until Johnson's junior
season that the North Augusta staff suggested a move to the offensive
line.
"The coaches told me during the
winter, 'Hey, maybe we'll move you to the offensive line,''' Johnson
said. "I actually thought it was a joke. As we got closer to spring
practice, they said, 'We're going to move you to the offensive line.' I
said, 'OK.' I really enjoy football, so it was no problem to me. I got
used to it and was really good at it, so they kept me there.''
Johnson started at right offensive
tackle last season, but will move to left tackle as a senior under the
direction of a new head coach in Brian Thomas.
Thomas returned to his home state in
March after an extremely successful four-year stint at Northern Guilford
High School in Greensboro, NC. Northern won three consecutive state 3-AA
championships with Thomas serving as defensive coordinator, then went
12-3 and reached the state finals a fourth straight year in Thomas’s
only season as head coach.
During Thomas’s tenure at Northern,
the Nighthawks produced a number of major college players like
California wide receiver Maurice Harris, North Carolina running back
T.J. Logan and East Carolina cornerback Rocco Scarfone.
Thomas instantly recognized Johnson
as a player with similar elite talent.
“I walked into the weightlifting
class for first period and Victor was one of the first kids I saw,’’
Thomas said. “It was eye opening and pretty exciting to know he’d be one
of my returning players, and not just because of football. Victor is a
great kid. He’s very respectful and hard working. I told all the college
coaches that he’s the type of kid when he’s told to do something, you
don’t have to watch over him. He won’t quit until he’s done.’’
Because of his basketball background,
Johnson is more athletic than the normal high school offensive lineman,
according to Thomas.
“He runs so well,’’ Thomas said. “I
timed him down on the track recently and he ran something like 50
(seconds) in the 400 (meters). He’s got good feet, long arms and he’s
aggressive.’’
The Pirates have recruited Johnson to
play tackle where his pass blocking skills seem to fit ECU’s system
well.
“They are pretty similar to us,’’
Johnson said. They go fast, no-huddle and I really like that. I
definitely think because of my athletic ability that I’ll fit well in
their system.’’
Whether Johnson winds up in the ECU
system, however, is still up in the air. Although he likes the Pirates
and has made a verbal commitment, the latter isn’t binding.
Johnson said he still plans to check
out some other potential suitors during the time between now and
national signing day in February.
“I’m going to look around at some
other schools,’’ Johnson said. “There aren’t any in particular I have in
mind, and I haven’t talked to any other schools. But I do plan to look
around some more.’’
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07/11/2014 04:08 PM |
