Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529598
5 0 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M D efensive back Josh Johnson had long seemed as though he was go- ing to end up in blue and white. He just took a slight detour before joining Penn State's 2025 recruiting class in Oc- tober. Rated a three-star prospect by On3, Johnson was close to committing to the Nittany Lions last summer. When the 6-foot-2, 190-pound standout from Ironton, Ohio, committed to Louisville instead, many observers were surprised. Penn State's staff was unfazed, though. The coaches continued to stay in contact, and their consistency throughout the process paid off. Johnson, who is listed by On3 as the No. 41 cornerback nation- ally and No. 17 overall prospect in Ohio, began having second thoughts about his commitment to the Cardinals and took an unofficial visit to Penn State for the Lions' game against UCLA on Oct. 5. One week later, he flipped to PSU. To learn more about what went into Johnson's decision and to get a better feel for his growth as a player, BWI caught up with Trevon Pendleton, the former Mich- igan State fullback who is now head coach at Ironton High. BWI: How long have you known Josh? I believe he left Ironton and then came back. Did he play much as a sophomore, or was it mainly his junior season that kickstarted everything for him? TREVON PENDLETON: Josh grew up as an Ironton kid. He was living in Ironton but ended up transferring to Ashland before his freshman year, so he wasn't with us that year. Josh came back as a sophomore, but truthfully, he was just an undersized kid at the time. He was probably 5-foot-10 and was mainly playing JV football but did play on some [varsity] special teams. He ended up suffering an injury halfway through his sophomore year. He had a small fracture in his foot, and it was right by the growth plate. When they did the X-rays, they were like, "Man, his growth plates are wide open. I wouldn't be sur- prised if he still hits a growth spurt." Well, by the time we got to his junior year, Josh was almost 6-3. He grew nearly five inches. But also, going into his junior year, he worked endlessly. He worked and worked and just kept getting better and better. That's really when he burst onto the scene. He's been a full-time starter for us ever since, and he's done a great job. BWI: Penn State was the first major school to offer Josh. What do you re- member about his junior year and how schools took notice of him? His teammate Shaun Terry is a wide receiver who origi- nally committed to Notre Dame and now is part of Missouri's class. Did schools no- tice Josh while watching Shaun? PENDLETON: We were pushing Josh to schools, obviously. Some schools came in to watch him work out and watch Shaun. Those two guys, Shaun and Josh, are really close. They're ultra-competitive I N T E R V I E W T R E V O N P E N D L E T O N Johnson committed to Louisville in June, but Penn State's coaches stayed in touch. The three-star defensive back announced in October that he planned on signing with the Nittany Lions. PHOTO COURTESY JOSH JOHNSON PRESS COVERAGE Josh Johnson's coach explains how Penn State's persistence paid off in its recruitment of the standout Ohio defensive back RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M