P L A Y E R B I O S
WHAT HE DID Johnson gained attention as a sophomore
with 29 catches for 441 yards and six touchdowns. A versa-
tile athlete who also played basketball and ran track at Glass-
boro, he went on to become one of the top prospects in New
Jersey. Even though he played in a run-oriented o>ense and
faced frequent double-teams, Johnson caught 38 passes for
755 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior.
WHAT HE WON Johnson – so strong that he passed up an invitation to visit
Alabama a@er receiving an o>er from the Crimson Tide.
QUOTABLE Johnson: "I just felt like I should be there. I felt
like I was a part of their family from the moment I walked in.
There's nowhere better I could be than Penn State. I talked to
the entire sta> and Christian Hackenberg. I talked to him a lit-
tle bit about how I could ense. The coaching sta>
said they need to get someone like me to help out Christian."
FRANKLIN SAYS "Not only is he 6-foot-4, but he has got a
reach of 34.5 inches. So you're talking about a guy who really
will play almost like he's 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7. A lot of the
time, the tall guys can't transition. He and Irvin [Charles]
have the ability run a straight line. They both also have the
ability to break tackles, make you miss and be physical."
PHIL'S TAKE Even though Penn State landed one of the best
receiver classes in the country last year, Johnson has an excel-
lent chance of making an impact as a true freshman. He is one
of the best pure athletes in Penn State's class, combining im-
pressive size with 4.5-second 40-yard speed, big hands and a
34-inch vertical leap. His brother, George Johnson, is a line-
backer/defensive end with the Detroit Lions, and it wouldn't
be surprising to see Juwan join him in the NFL someday.
JUWAN
JOHNSON
RIVALS
★★★★
POS WR HT 6-4 WT 212
HOME
Glassboro, N.J.
SCHOOL Glassboro
WHAT HE DID Kelly made a team-high 65 tackles from his
safety position and added four pass breakups, two intercep-
tions, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt, helping Union
City reach the semis.
During his high school career, he played safety, linebacker,
wide receiver, tight end and quarterback, and he also re-
turned punts and kicks. He is expected to play linebacker at
Penn State.
WHAT HE WON Besides his four-star rating from Rivals.com,
Kelly was ranked the 17th-best all-purpose athlete in the na-
tion and the No. 9 prospect in New Jersey. He was listed as
the 24th-best player in the state by NJ.com.
WHERE HE VISITED Kelly had initially committed to Syra-
cuse, but he agreed to take an o?cial visit to Rutgers last
September on the weekend of the Scarlet Knights' game
against Penn State. The timing couldn't have been better…
for the Nittany Lions. Penn State had been pursuing Kelly
and Franklin called him the day a@er the game to o>er a
scholarship. Kelly accepted immediately. He had received
scholarship o>ers from a mix of Big Ten and Atlantic Coast
Conference schools, including Michigan State, Nebraska,
Rutgers, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Pitt, Virginia and Wake For-
est. But he had been a Penn State fan growing up, and he was
one of the targeted a@er
the Lions were granted further sanction relief from the
NCAA in early September.
QUOTABLE Kelly: "Coming out on Friday nights under the
lights is a thrill and an experience that I'll never forget. Hav-
ing my athletic ability, I was able to make plays on both sides
of the ball, but defense is where my heart is. I feel that I did
good and improved on a few things [as a senior], but there's
still a lot of room to improve."
FRANKLIN SAYS "This guy is a physical guy. He always has a
smile on his face, but he plays angry. He's a physical guy."
PHIL'S TAKE Kelly has the speed (4.55) to play strong safety
and the toughness to play outside linebacker. I believe he will
have an opportunity to contribute on the kick-coverage units
as a freshman. Kelly was recruited as an athlete and could
eventually develop into a 230-pound Will outside linebacker.
He accelerates to the football and plays the game from side-
line to sideline.
DAIQUAN
KELLY
RIVALS
★★★★
POS LB HT 6-2 WT 205
HOME Newark, N.J.
SCHOOL Union City
