Recent News on Silsbee's Jeremy Johnson

[AggiesAreWe]

Silsbee Junior QB Jeremy Johnson now has offers from these schools:

Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Purdue, TCU, and West Virginia. All want him at quarterback.

It is a strong year nationally for dual-threat quarterbacks and Michigan has found several nationwide they have deemed offer worthy. One of those is Silsbee, Texas' Jeremy Johnson who accounted for nearly 2,800 yards of offense and 32 touchdowns as a junior.

"Michigan sent [the offer] to the school about a month and a half ago," Johnson said. "I've been a Michigan fan since I was little and I used to watch Braylon Edwards. I never thought I would be getting an offer from Michigan because I never thought they recruited way down here."

Johnson is most often compared to Pat White who played for current Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez for a majority of his career

Other schools that have offered Johnson include Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, Missouri, Purdue, West Virginia and TCU. Michigan, though, has jumped out as one of Johnson's favorites.

"They are top three – Baylor, Michigan and West Virginia," Johnson reported. "I am being recruited by Baylor a lot and they are close to home, so I really like them. I am going to try to go to Baylor next weekend and I am going to try to go to West Virginia after that. I haven't talked with the Michigan coaches, so I'm not sure if I am going to go up there or not."

West Virginia is where the recently-drafted Pat White went to school and Johnson said he is compared to White more than any other quarterback in professional or collegiate football. White, of course, was recruited by and played for current Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez and that fact has not escaped Johnson's attention.

"It really makes me feel good knowing that Pat White was successful playing for the coach," Johnson said. "They told me that Pat White could have been recruited anywhere in the nation as an athlete, but he wanted to play quarterback and that's kind of how teams are recruiting me.

"Most of the big time schools like Texas and Oklahoma want me as an athlete, but I am sticking at quarterback so I think Michigan would be a good school for me.

"I think I would fit in good with the offense. It's a shotgun offense and they have a good mixture of running plays and pass plays. I see they do a lot of quick routes and that's kind of what I do in the offense at my high school. As far as learning the offense and being comfortable with it, I think I would fit right in with that team."

Other schools recruiting Johnson as a quarterback include West Virginia, Baylor, Kentucky and TCU. He will take visits to several schools this spring and summer, but the first hurdle programs that are recruiting Johnson have to clear is to recruit him as a quarterback.

"I really want to play quarterback, so any team looking at me for quarterback, I'll look into going there," Johnson said. "My dad is helping me make my decision and we're looking at the opportunity for playing time and how I fit into an offense."

As a junior, Johnson threw for 1,886 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also rushed 110 times for 832 yards and 12 touchdowns.

With less than 10,000 people to its name, Silsbee (TX) isn't what most would call a recruiting hotbed. Over the last two years, however, one very special player has brought attention to the area by making jaw dropping throws and even more impressive plays on the ground; since then, offers from the likes of Michigan, West Virginia, and Baylor have been pouring into the small town in rapid succession.

The emergence of dual-threat quarterback Jeremy Johnson came during a forgettable 4-6 2007 season for the Tigers; for the first time in three years, they failed to make the playoffs, and to add insult to injury, the team that beat them out for a spot in the postseason was none other than division rival Jasper. That same year, however, Johnson provided a silver lining by earning a combined 2,296 yards and 26 touchdowns, while locking down the quarterback position for years to come.

With a year of experience under his belt, Johnson and the Tigers came back in 2008 with a vengeance. While leading the Tigers two rounds deep into the playoffs, Johnson improved on his sophomore stats by running for 832 yards and 12 touchdowns, while throwing for 1886 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just five interceptions.

Recently clocked at a 4.38 by his coaches, it's no surprise the District 21-3A MVP and honorable mention 3A All-State selection is getting as much attention as he is. Just last week, coaches from Oklahoma, Baylor, Illinois, and Northwestern all made the trip down to watch the Silsbee standout perform. With over nine months to go until national signing day, however, Johnson already has a good idea as to where he will end up.

"West Virginia and Baylor are my two favorites right now," Johnson said. "I'm getting down to a couple options right now, but I still get mail from a lot of different places."

Along with TCU and Michigan - two other schools Johnson is seriously considering - Baylor and West Virginia both have offenses that Johnson could see himself excelling in.

"Coach [Art] Briles has shown me some film on Robert Griffin, as well as some of the playbook, " Johnson said. "I like their offense a lot. Baylor really seems to be heading to the top in college football."

"I like what Pat White has done at West Virginia, too," Johnson added. "I've watched him a lot, and I've kind of geared my game after him in a way."

Johnson was actually slotted to visit West Virginia two weeks ago for the Mountaineer's spring game until heavy rains kept his flight grounded on the runway. So far, the Silsbee quarterback has taken visits to TCU and Oklahoma, but plans on making the rounds before coming to his final decision.

"I am planning on going to Baylor and West Virginia and Baylor in the next few weeks," Johnson said. "I won't be making any decisions until probably the end of June, though, so I can make all my visits. Then I'll be relaxed and comfortable with whatever decision I make."