Johnson getting SEC recruiting attention
Cedartown’s Jayden Johnson is continuing to reel in the scholarship offers.
The rising senior football star earned two SEC offers in the past week. The scholarships from Kentucky and Ole Miss have brought him to 19 total offers.
Along with the scholarships, Johnson also picked up a nice jump in the 247Sports rankings as well. The two-way Bulldog is still a three-star prospect, but is now ranked as the no. 36 athlete in the nation and as the no. 39 player in all of Georgia for the Class of 2021. He is the no. 508 ranked player in the country for his recruiting class.
Johnson was one of the main players former Head Coach Doyle Kelley told fans to expect big things from in 2019. “Jayden is going to be a really big prospect,” Kelley said on WGAA Radio’s SportsTalk Live back in August 2019. “We’ve had multiple big name schools out here to see him and it’s just beginning.”
Kelley’s prediction has held true. After a junior campaign that saw Johnson take over at quarterback for injured starter Taji Hudson, Johnson began being viewed as one of the most dynamic players in Region 5-4A.
His great efforts leading the Bulldog offense were even outshined by his stellar defensive play. Regional analysts took note of this, which is why many are projecting Johnson to play in the defensive secondary at the next level.
Regardless of where he lines up, Johnson is sure to make an impact for one lucky team. While we are still about nine months out from National Signing Day 2021, Jayden is already closing in on twenty offers. To this point, he has been offered by eight Power Five schools: Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Virginia. He also has nine Group of Five offers (Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, ECU, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Liberty, Memphis, Navy, and Troy) and two FCS offers (Chattanooga and Western Carolina).
On May 27, the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee extended the recruiting dead period through July 31.
This makes Johnson and prospects across the country miss out on key recruiting opportunities. The dead period essentially means that coaches cannot have in-home visits with recruits, hold camps to scout players, or host players during on-campus visits. Though players can still receive scholarship offers from schools during this time, it goes without saying how challenging it is for players to be without these opportunities.