St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet 2020 wide receiver and Notre Dame commit Jordan Johnson has high expectations every time he steps on the football field as a Rivals five-star prospect.
In a 63-0 victory on Friday night for the Spartans (8-0) over Central (Mo.) High (5-3), Johnson caught four passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, while adding an eight yard rushing score.
Johnson put up these numbers in the first half alone, as De Smet was up 49-0 at halftime and did not play the majority of its starters in the second half.
On back-to-back plays during the first drive of the game for De Smet, Johnson caught passes that went for nine and 11 yards, respectively.
Johnson's first catch of the game was on a quick hitch pattern, in which he was able to get out of a tackle, used great body control to to keep his knee off the ground before picking up a couple more yards.
Johnson's third catch of the night went for nine yards and was another quick throw to the flats. After catching the ball a few yards past the line of scrimmage, Johnson was able to gather a few more yards before being tackled.
It doesn't look like much at first glance, but Johnson makes a really nice play here.
Johnson hopped a bit to the outside when he broke off his route as he saw the ball coming. It seems as if he preferred to catch the ball on the left side of his body, which allowed him to very easily identify the cornerback as his body was mostly already turned upfield due to the made the small hop to the outside. If you slow the video below down a bit, you can see what I mean.
He also did a very nice job of keeping his right knee from touching the ground, as it was close.
Johnson, who ranks as the No. 21 overall prospect and No. 4 receiver in the nation, scored his first rushing touchdown of the 2019 season.
De Smet offensive coordinator John Pukula called Johnson's number on a jet sweep, and the Notre Dame commit was able to take it into the end zone from eight yards out. All Johnson needed was for the defensive end to be taken out of the play, which the De Smet right tackle and running back were able to do, and on the edge, 2021 four-star athlete Jakailin Johnson made a key block.
Jordan Johnson [no relation] was able to do the rest with his excellent speed.
Johnson had a nice block on the edge to spring a 27 yard run for running back Rich Barfield, who was taken down at the one yard line. He was able to punch in a rushing score from a couple of plays later.
Once Johnson saw Barfield break through to the second level, he identified who he need to block, which was the cornerback, and made a pancaked the defender.
Johnson's fourth catch of the night went for 34 yards and it showed off his elite speed. The 6-foot-2, 182-pound playmaker ran a three-step slant route, found an opening across the middle of the field, and ran past three defenders to make another play look easy.
Notre Dame would love to add another elite talent from De Smet.
Jakailin Johnson, a class of 2021 standout who ranks as the No. 64 recruit nationally and No. 5 cornerback, was playing on both sides on Friday night, as he's done all season.
Johnson caught a seven yard touchdown pass on a back-shoulder fade to the front corner of the end zone. He did a great job of finding the ball, knowing where he was on the field and making a nice catch with a defender right on his back.
Central High didn't attempt many passes on the night, especially in the first half when the De Smet starters were in the game.
Lined up at cornerback, Johnson was not thrown out once, and he did not get into any situations where he was needed in run support, as the De Smet front seven stopped the run with ease all night.
Video Interviews
Check out my video interviews from the road with the aforementioned Jordan Johnson and fellow Notre Dame commit Gabriel Rubio, the nation's No. 7 defensive tackle and No. 86 overall prospect in the 2021 class.
