2014 LB/DE Jakob Johnson watched his idol Bjoern Werner making tackles last season, he could see visions of his future. Johnson would watch American football games from his home in Stuttgart, Germany, thinking one day he might follow in his countryman Werner’s footsteps and play college football in the US. His American dream was closer than he knew at the time. Johnson, who played American football growing up in Germany, moved to Jacksonville, FL to live with his father's family in July an play linebacker for Jacksonville Ribault. FBS schools have begun taking notice; Tulane, Tennessee and Idaho were the first to bite, and Wisconsin came on board last week an UCF offered Oct 28th.
There is one invitation Johnson is awaiting, however. It would mean a lot to him if he could follow Werner to FSU and then on to the NFL. Johnson (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) took an Unofficial visit to FSU two weeks ago during the Seminoles’ 63-0 rout of Maryland, he stared in awe at the game-day crowd because in Germany he generally played in front of 100-300 people. He got to talk to the linebacker coach [Charles Kelly] and the defensive coordinator [Jeremy Pruitt]. He hopes they are going to offer him. Johnson said he would play any position as long as he get to play. Which is a great team first attitude to have because with a redshirt year of coaching and FBS S&C he will be 260lbs LB/DE that can either play up or down and drop into coverage.
FSU told him they were going to go through all his film during the bye week and then let him know. Unfortunately for Johnson, however, it’s possible that FSU is full at his position for the 2014 recruiting class and since he may be an Early Enrollee time is off the essence in picking a school. The Seminoles have three of the top linebackers in the state already committed to the 2014 class in Jacob Pugh of Tallahassee Godby, Jacksonville Sandalwood’s Kain Daub and Pensacola Catholic’s Delvin Purifoy. The ’Noles also do not have a lot of wiggle room with 24 players already committed to the 2014 class. If FSU can’t come through, Johnson said he still feels good to have the offers he’s received and Tennessee has perked his interest.
He said he heard of Daub almost immediately after arriving on campus at Ribault this fall. His teammates said it first thing when his coaches brought him to the first practice, that he look like Kain Daub, Johnson said in an article. Even at 6'4" 240lbs Johnson appears to be very fluid and comfortable playing in space (which is an asset when playing against spread teams). Frankly, he is a strikingly similar to Florida State LB commit Kain Daub, both in appearance and stature. One big difference that jumps out, however, is Johnson's ability to play in space. Daub, in past years, has shown he is a better player moving straight-ahead, but struggles playing side-to-side a bit (like former FSU LB Jeff Luc). Daub is a little stiff in the hips, but otherwise an excellent prospect and superb pass-rusher. Johnson, however, does not have this issue. Johnson's movements on film are very fluid. An while he isn't the fastest guy (4.8 40yd time) in the world, he is football fast and you still see him being a very effective linebacker at the FBS level because of the ease of his lateral movement (think Brandon Spikes or Dont'a Hightower).
The positives for Johnson are his ideal size (6-4, 240). He's comfortable in space, enough so that I don't think it's out of the question he could play the ILB/SDE in a 3-4 scheme. He's got a big frame that can carry more weight easily to allow a transition to the defensive front as a possibility too. Then, throw in the fact that he can be on campus in January. If there's concern about his knowledge of the game or adjusting to playing the ball at this level in America, he will get an entire spring practice under his belt before his freshman season. There are a bunch of positives here. Johnson's best days on the gridiron are clearly way out in front of him. And with the Big Three schools now apparently moving into the mix with potential offers as well (FSU and Miami have expressed interest, still no word on Florida yet), the pursuit of Jakob Johnson could get very intriguing over the next several weeks as he continues to take visits and consider his options at the next level.
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 North Florida 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. Now He lives with his aunt in Jacksonville and his Ribault Team is (4-2) poised to reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2010, “It’s really crazy how fast things are moving for me right now,” said Johnson in an article, who plans on graduating high school early and enrolling in college in January. He has a 27 ACT score which more than qualifies him for Miami.
Go Canes!
2013 Sr Year in Jacksonville, FL Highlights
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2526543/jakob-elijah-johnson-9-51
2013 Spring Germany Highlights
[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eZaU1uMSB0[/video]
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-10-15/sports/os-chris-hays-the-prospector-german-jakob-johnson-eyes-fsu-bjoern-werner-20131015_1_kain-daub-bjoern-werner-telvin-smith
http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/2013-10-15/story/journey-germany-ribault-quick-rewarding-jakob-johnson
There is one invitation Johnson is awaiting, however. It would mean a lot to him if he could follow Werner to FSU and then on to the NFL. Johnson (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) took an Unofficial visit to FSU two weeks ago during the Seminoles’ 63-0 rout of Maryland, he stared in awe at the game-day crowd because in Germany he generally played in front of 100-300 people. He got to talk to the linebacker coach [Charles Kelly] and the defensive coordinator [Jeremy Pruitt]. He hopes they are going to offer him. Johnson said he would play any position as long as he get to play. Which is a great team first attitude to have because with a redshirt year of coaching and FBS S&C he will be 260lbs LB/DE that can either play up or down and drop into coverage.
FSU told him they were going to go through all his film during the bye week and then let him know. Unfortunately for Johnson, however, it’s possible that FSU is full at his position for the 2014 recruiting class and since he may be an Early Enrollee time is off the essence in picking a school. The Seminoles have three of the top linebackers in the state already committed to the 2014 class in Jacob Pugh of Tallahassee Godby, Jacksonville Sandalwood’s Kain Daub and Pensacola Catholic’s Delvin Purifoy. The ’Noles also do not have a lot of wiggle room with 24 players already committed to the 2014 class. If FSU can’t come through, Johnson said he still feels good to have the offers he’s received and Tennessee has perked his interest.
He said he heard of Daub almost immediately after arriving on campus at Ribault this fall. His teammates said it first thing when his coaches brought him to the first practice, that he look like Kain Daub, Johnson said in an article. Even at 6'4" 240lbs Johnson appears to be very fluid and comfortable playing in space (which is an asset when playing against spread teams). Frankly, he is a strikingly similar to Florida State LB commit Kain Daub, both in appearance and stature. One big difference that jumps out, however, is Johnson's ability to play in space. Daub, in past years, has shown he is a better player moving straight-ahead, but struggles playing side-to-side a bit (like former FSU LB Jeff Luc). Daub is a little stiff in the hips, but otherwise an excellent prospect and superb pass-rusher. Johnson, however, does not have this issue. Johnson's movements on film are very fluid. An while he isn't the fastest guy (4.8 40yd time) in the world, he is football fast and you still see him being a very effective linebacker at the FBS level because of the ease of his lateral movement (think Brandon Spikes or Dont'a Hightower).
The positives for Johnson are his ideal size (6-4, 240). He's comfortable in space, enough so that I don't think it's out of the question he could play the ILB/SDE in a 3-4 scheme. He's got a big frame that can carry more weight easily to allow a transition to the defensive front as a possibility too. Then, throw in the fact that he can be on campus in January. If there's concern about his knowledge of the game or adjusting to playing the ball at this level in America, he will get an entire spring practice under his belt before his freshman season. There are a bunch of positives here. Johnson's best days on the gridiron are clearly way out in front of him. And with the Big Three schools now apparently moving into the mix with potential offers as well (FSU and Miami have expressed interest, still no word on Florida yet), the pursuit of Jakob Johnson could get very intriguing over the next several weeks as he continues to take visits and consider his options at the next level.
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 North Florida 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. Now He lives with his aunt in Jacksonville and his Ribault Team is (4-2) poised to reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2010, “It’s really crazy how fast things are moving for me right now,” said Johnson in an article, who plans on graduating high school early and enrolling in college in January. He has a 27 ACT score which more than qualifies him for Miami.
Go Canes!
2013 Sr Year in Jacksonville, FL Highlights
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2526543/jakob-elijah-johnson-9-51
2013 Spring Germany Highlights
[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eZaU1uMSB0[/video]
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-10-15/sports/os-chris-hays-the-prospector-german-jakob-johnson-eyes-fsu-bjoern-werner-20131015_1_kain-daub-bjoern-werner-telvin-smith
http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/2013-10-15/story/journey-germany-ribault-quick-rewarding-jakob-johnson
