Blue White Illustrated

Lions still had scholarships to o8er. Those schools are likely to move ahead of Penn State in the weeks to come. The class is expected to 7nish somewhere around the top 15. Rivals also updated individual player rankings in the 7rst week of December. Penn State was planning to sign 13 four- star players during the early signing pe- riod, eight of whom were listed in the Rivals250. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs re- mained the highest-ranked player in the class, coming in at No. 77 overall. He's the only Penn State prospect who made the Rivals100. In addition to Johnson, running back Caziah Holmes, defensive tackle Cole Brevard, wide receivers Parker Washing- ton and KeAndre Lambert, as well as of- fensive linemen Golden Achumba and Jimmy Christ, all found themselves ranked between Nos. 101 and 250 overall. With bowl games set to begin, the NCAA has a mandated dead period that lasts until Jan. 16. A:er that, James Franklin and his assistants will have three weeks to host any potential additions to the class before signing day on Feb. 5. The chances of Penn State adding more play- ers to the class will likely depend on whether there are any unanticipated transfers. The sta8 had already factored in a few departures when it accepted commitments from the 27 freshmen who were expected to sign during the early pe- riod, so it will likely require at least an- other half-dozen or more players to leave for the Class of 2020 to ultimately grow. If that were to happen, one player who might bear watching in January is defen- sive back Isaiah Dunson. A four-star prospect from Tucker, Ga., Dunson was originally committed to Florida State but backed out of that pledge following a coaching change. He visited with Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith during an in-school visit in early Decem- ber and wanted to take an o9cial visit to University Park on the weekend of Dec. 13-15. But following Johnson's commit- ment, that visit was put on hold until a:er the dead period, by which time the sta8 will likely have a better idea of how many players may leave in the o8-sea- son. ■ P enn State picked up a commitment on Dec. 10 from its top remaining Class of 2020 prospect, tight end Theo Johnson. A Rivals250 player from Canada, Johnson had received only a handful of Group of Five o8ers before Penn State made the move in July 2018. A number of Power Five schools soon followed suit. Johnson was pursued by some of college football's biggest names, and while he ended up choos- ing the Nittany Lions, it wasn't an easy process. BWI's Ryan Snyder recently caught up with Johnson to talk about his decision. BWI It seemed like these past two months were tough for you. It felt as though Penn State was the favorite for a while, but Iowa, Michigan and Geor- gia all impressed you. So, to start, how close was all of this? Was there one school that almost swayed you away from Penn State? JOHNSON Honestly, for the longest time, it wasn't really Penn State as the true favorite. I really liked all four of the schools that I had narrowed it down to. There was a point in time where I seriously considered commit- ting to each one of those schools. So it's been a tough road, but in the end, I feel like this was just the best decision for me. BWI At what point in the process did you know that you were going to com- mit to Penn State? JOHNSON There were multiple points in time when Penn State was the school at the top. I just had di8erent phases where things would change for me. I feel like, coming into this past week, talking to my coach and my mom and other people, it became clear that Penn State was the best decision. But, honestly, even [the night before] I was still unsure of everything. I was still thinking about a lot of stu8. For- tunately, I woke up refreshed and didn't second-guess anything. I knew what was right for me. BWI Pat Freiermuth was pretty out- spoken on social media about you. What's your relationship like with Pat? He seemed excited when you commit- ted. JOHNSON Yeah, I know Pat and all of the guys in that tight end room well. Honestly, me and Pat have been talk- ing for a while now. He's been saying for a while now that they want some- one like me in the room because they want me to push them and make them better players. Having someone like him say that means a lot. He's going to play in the NFL down the road. I feel like we have a great relationship and he's going to only help me get better down the road. BWI Who are you close with in this class? Did those relationships have a big impact down the stretch? JOHNSON Honestly, I haven't been talking with too many guys in my class. I've seen Curtis Jacobs a bunch at di8erent camps and stu8, and we've talked a few times, but I've been talk- ing to guys on the team more than the guys in my class. But I know it's a great group. I got to know some of them during the Lasch Bash. BWI It felt like Tyler Bowen was someone you clicked with right away. How important was he in your deci- sion? JOHNSON I just think the big thing for me and Coach Bowen is that our rela- tionship has been strong for a real long I want people to know that I'm coming to play' ' I N T E R V I E W T H E O J O H N S O N

• Cover