Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DEC. 5, 2020 43 Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic of- fensive tackle Caleb Johnson moved around a lot as a child because his father, Aaron, played briefly with the Kansas City Chiefs and lined up on the offensive line for a few years in the Arena Football League — includ- ing stints with the Colorado Crush and the Indiana Firebirds. The bulk of Johnson's childhood was spent in Fort Wayne, Ind., be- fore his family relocated to Central Florida going into his sophomore year of high school. His recruitment took off after his first season at Trin- ity Catholic, picking up a handful of Power Five offers. As an Indiana kid, Johnson grew up no stranger to Notre Dame. He also visited campus twice in 2019, including the Fighting Irish's victory over USC, but didn't earn an offer from the program until the following March. Johnson had his plan set: take June official visits to Auburn, Notre Dame, Penn State and maybe a couple of others before making a decision prior to the start of his senior season. How- ever, the NCAA kept pushing back its recruiting dead period due to the pandemic, and John- son decided to lock in an early pledge. In May, he picked the Auburn Tigers, the school that had recruited him very hard and he had been to a handful of times. Notre Dame didn't have much in- teraction with Johnson for the first couple of months after his Tigers' pledge, but then offensive line coach Jeff Quinn started reaching out here and there to keep the line of commu- nication open. When Fridley (Minn.) Totino-Grace offensive tackle Joe Alt, who Rivals ranks as a three-star talent, commit- ted to Notre Dame July 6, the Irish hit four offensive line verbals in the 2021 class. Notre Dame was essentially done recruiting offensive lineman, but Quinn and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees considered taking a fifth in the 2021 class. The player had to be a difference-maker, though, which was part of their pitch to Johnson. "They were talking about how they were done with offensive linemen, and they didn't have any more scholar- ships to offer at my position," Johnson recalled. "But they went to Coach [Brian] Kelly and said that they really want me in the class. That just showed me that they really want me, and I'm not just another body. They wanted me." Once Notre Dame got rolling on the field and ascended in the polls, the Irish staff found its opportunity to make a push in hopes to flip John- son from the Tigers. Contact between the two parties heated up in October. "They've got a really good offen- sive line there; they just churn them out," Johnson said of Notre Dame. "They're going to keep doing great things." Reports surfaced that Johnson was strongly considering flipping his commitment from Auburn to Notre Dame, but nothing was imminent. The Auburn staff was in close contact with him to keep him in the fold. Johnson was leaning Notre Dame, though. Going into a video chat call with the Fighting Irish staff Nov. 19, he was about 60 percent certain he'd make the decision to switch his commitment. "During the Zoom call, I was think- ing that I could see myself excelling at Notre Dame," Johnson explained. "It won't be easy and I'll be away from my family, but it's the best deci- sion I could make." The combination of Quinn and Rees played a big role in pulling off the big flip of the 6-7, 290-pounder. "Coach Rees does a great job," Johnson added. "He's been very real with us and tells us what's going on. I like him a lot. "Coach Quinn is going to make us great. He basically has a full offen- sive line committed right now. We have guards, tackles and a center." The aforementioned Alt is likely going to play offensive tackle for Notre Dame. Clarkston (Mich.) High's Rocco Spindler and Chicago Marist's Pat Coogan are interior players. Johnson and Avon (Ind.) High's Blake Fisher offer the size, athleticism and versatility to play ei- ther guard or tackle at the next level. Johnson has clicked right away with his future teammates that he'll play next to at Notre Dame. "What really surprised me was how connected they were already without even being on campus," he said. "They're always talking to each other — a lot more than what I've seen others do. It's good to become a part of that." Rivals ranks Johnson as the No. 58 player in Florida and the nation's No. 34 offensive tackle. During his recruiting process, Johnson also held offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Tennessee and others. — Mike Singer COMMITMENT PROFILE CALEB JOHNSON Notre Dame Too Good For Indiana Native To Pass Up Johnson, the No. 58 player in Florida and the No. 34 offensive tackle nationally per Rivals, flipped his commitment from Auburn to Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM FILM ANALYSIS "He certainly has the length, quick feet and overall athletic ability you look for in a left tackle. His potential is through the roof; he does a good job of playing angles, and he's quick and athletic enough to effectively block out on the second level. "He shows good lateral mobility and can ef- fectively slide outside to cut off edge rushers." — Prep Football Report's Tom Lemming "They've got a really good offensive line there; they just churn them out. They're going to keep doing great things." JOHNSON ON NOTRE DAME