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T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 9 >> muscle memory and the little things that he's going to need. When I was coaching him at King's Academy, I would spend 10 minutes every day with him working on pass protection pickups. I would force him to do di>erent line calls, even though he would never see those blitzes in high school. So he has a background with some of these things that most young quarterbacks don't. Now, since we moved to Eugene, he hasn't done any of that. He's been in a shotgun the entire time [at Sheldon High School], and they ran a run-based of- fense. In my opinion, his passing re- gressed a little bit because of that, but I know he's going to pick up on these things again once he gets to work on them because he has the muscle memory. That's why I always wanted to do that stu> with him – because I knew around that age that he had the potential. Now, in regard to your question, I thought those two years at King's Acad- emy were the best two years of my life. Even though I wasn't coaching at the top level and doing the things that I love about my profession, it helped me de- velop my son and gave him an opportu- nity to play at a level like Penn State. That's the part that I'm really thankful for. BWI When you decided to make the move back to the college game, what was it like having a son who was also going to be recruited by many of the programs you're competing against? JOHNSON When I got to Oregon, I told Willie Taggart and the coaches there that I'm not going to recruit my son. So if we wanted Mike to come to the University of Oregon, we would have to recruit him like everyone else. I taught my son from a young age that you go where you're wanted, that you go where you feel you =t in best. His decision was about going where he's comfortable and =nding a school that =t him when it comes to their system. All of those types of things were what he looked at the most. The one thing, looking back, that I'm happy about and proud of is that, out of his four or =ve schools that he was con- sidering toward the end, all of them had great leaders of men in charge of the program. That was something I wanted for him. I wanted someone who wasn't going to treat him just as a football player, but would also teach him the traits that will make him a good father, husband and person in the community. That's something that I think is impor- tant, and James Franklin was at the top of that list. I was at a camp during Mike's recruiting visit [to Penn State], so I didn't get the chance to come, but I did listen in over FaceTime. The one thing that really stuck out to me about Franklin was that he said he didn't like average people. I remember him saying, "If you don't go to class, you're not going to like me very well. If you don't practice hard, you're not going to like me very well." If Mike gets those things and someone pushes him to that level of accountabil- ity, the sky's the limit. I truly believe that. Then it comes down to how hard he's willing to compete for a spot. If it's something he really wants, he's going to have the chance to go get it. But before you get the chance to do all of that, you have to understand that being early is being on time. You have to go to class and do all the little things right. That's why I wanted him in that kind of culture, and Coach Franklin's program =t all of that. BWI When I spoke with Michael a few months before he committed, he told me that you were acquainted with Ja'Juan Seider. I believe you were with the San Diego Chargers when he was dra@ed? Did that relationship have any impact on you approving of Penn State? Also, do you have any other previous relationships with any of the coaches at Penn State? JOHNSON Yeah, we dra@ed Ja'Juan Sei- der in the sixth round that year [2000]. It was actually the same dra@ that Tom Brady came out in. See, I actually have relationships with a few of the coaches on their sta>. I coached Seider in San Diego. With James Franklin, I knew him going back to his time at Idaho State. When I was at Oregon State, he was recruiting [Los Angeles], so I met him then. I actu- ally played with Terry Smith. I was the quarterback for the Shreveport Pirates in the Canadian Football League, and Terry was my receiver at the time. So I have multiple connections to the sta> at Penn State. One thing I have to say about all of them is that they're all good people. BWI Did you participate in any of the in- home visits with Franklin or Ricky Rahne when they came to the house? As some- one who has been around college football, you know what to expect from these in- home visits. Was there anything that stood out to you about the Penn State sta> when they came to your house? JOHNSON Yeah, I was there for the in- home visits. The one thing that I know about James Franklin, and now I'm learning about Ricky Rahne, is that they have a consistent message. He has a cer- tain way that he wants to build his cul- ture at Penn State. When you try to build a champion and build that culture the right way, where you have accountabil- ity, responsibility, everyone being self- less, having a great work ethic, all of those types of things, you can't have a mixed message. During the home visit, James' message was very consistent with everything I had already heard. When I went to Penn State [in January] and sat down and listened to him again, it was a very similar message. It's always about you being the very best you can be every single day. You probably saw on the internet how he makes the [early en- rollees] come in and sit in the front row during their =rst class at Penn State. He then sends back, "That's great, but let's do that for the next four years." That's what I like. That's the level of accountability that I like for my son. High school kids don't always have to be that accountable. They can get away with that. Now, when you're playing Ohio State and Michigan and all the other excellent programs in that confer- ence, and you're playing against all the excellent athletes that you just played against in the Under Armour All-Amer- ica Game, you can't get away with the little things, especially if you're the quarterback. You have to be the face of the team, so you have to be accountable. All of those little things are important, so that's why I like Franklin's message. Other than that, from talking and com- municating, we know that their coaches have the same values and core beliefs that we have as a family. If you can =nd that at a good school where there are good players and good competition, that's a home run for everyone. ■

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