Gophers aggressively pursuing former 5 star DB from OsU

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Transfer Portal: NCAA Athlete Transfer News, Rankings & NIL Valuations

On3's NCAA Transfer Portal offers up-to-date news and rankings on college football and basketball transfers. Dive into detailed NIL valuations and stay informed on student-athlete transfer intentions.
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Recruiting: Johnson committed to Ohio State over Clemson, UCLA, Florida and many others in early December. He took an official visit to Columbus during his senior season.

At Ohio State: Johnson redshirted during his true freshman season in Columbus and then totaled eight tackles in 2019 and 2020. He saw 77 snaps during the 2020 season.

Potential landing spots: Dozens of schools have reached out to Johnson since he entered the portal, so while it is still very early, some of the more aggressive include South Carolina, Oregon, Florida, Mississippi State, Minnesota, UCF and Florida State.

Farrell’s Take: Johnson clearly has a ton of skill and we loved his size and range out of high school. It didn't work out at Ohio State as expected but this is a high level talent and a kid who can play multiple roles in every defense. Versatile defensive backs who can cover in the slot and range as a free are always valuable.

Impact Meter: 8.8 out of 10
 



They also offered Tulsa CB transfer Akayleb Evans.
 

It sounds like PJ isn't comfortable with the depth in the Defensive Backfield.
 


I would think that the players would be making decisions by the end of May. I would think they would want to work out with new teammates etc.
 

nsmike said:
It sounds like PJ isn't comfortable with the depth in the Defensive Backfield.
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Agree, maybe he’s really excited about the d line and linebackers and believes adding more experience in the backfield will make this defense elite.
 







I like the young talent, but really isn’t a ton of experience outside of Durr. Smith and Howard have limited experience and it’s kind of unknown how either would hold up as a full time starter. Harris I believe is back, although I don’t recall seeing him in the spring game. I think he primarily is a slot guy. I think the bigger concern beyond the unknowns of Smith and Howard is that all four of these guys are seniors. That leaves only Walley, Pless, Glaze, and Fleming as CBs, maybe someone else I had tabbed as a safety can play cb, like Ortiz? I believe Seward saw a fair amount of time in the spring game, he may be another option. But either way that’s a very young and not very deep unit. The Avante Dickerson decommit didn’t help either. I don’t recall seeing Fleming in the spring game, but the other guys mentioned all flashed. A couple transfers with at least two years eligibility could really solidify things for the next few years.
 




btowngopher said:
I like the young talent, but really isn’t a ton of experience outside of Durr. Smith and Howard have limited experience and it’s kind of unknown how either would hold up as a full time starter. Harris I believe is back, although I don’t recall seeing him in the spring game. I think he primarily is a slot guy. I think the bigger concern beyond the unknowns of Smith and Howard is that all four of these guys are seniors. That leaves only Walley, Pless, Glaze, and Fleming as CBs, maybe someone else I had tabbed as a safety can play cb, like Ortiz? I believe Seward saw a fair amount of time in the spring game, he may be another option. But either way that’s a very young and not very deep unit. The Avante Dickerson decommit didn’t help either. I don’t recall seeing Fleming in the spring game, but the other guys mentioned all flashed. A couple transfers with at least two years eligibility could really solidify things for the next few years.
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The all senior parts is probably the biggest piece. If Avante had decided to stick with his MN commit, I don't think us going strongly for Johnson happens.
 




Boomtime said:
Yep...pretty late to be adding. Not a good sign regardless of how a few here will spin it.
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Fleck has been aggressive in the transfer portal. not surprising to see him make a run at an impact DB. Doesn’t have to be a knock on what we have just because the coaches are willing to pursue potential upgrades. Flecks job is to put the best team possible on the field.
 

Could it be that PJ Fleck senses that this 2021 Gopher Edition might be special? Good enough to make a run for the title, and he is shoring up areas that are thin at depth?
 

60's Guy said:
PJ is doing what he says: My job is to find somebody better to take your job from you.
Opportunity arises...PJ is ready.
How can you criticize or worry about trying to make the team better?
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Personally I'm concerned about the secondary, all on its own.


But PJ trying to recruit players, even transfers, I'm happy about that.
 

It's looking like the Transfer Portal is becoming a good friend to PJ.
 

The transfer portal has become the first line of recruiting for a vast majority of programs, even over the high school recruits, this reported on college sports radio and I have heard many coaches echo this opinion. If any portal recruit is good enough for PJ, well....get these kids an oar and get them rowing asap.
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Personally I'm concerned about the secondary, all on its own.


But PJ trying to recruit players, even transfers, I'm happy about that.
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Yup, this is how I feel. Seeing that they offered the Tulsa guy was eye-opening to me. He's got a couple nice offers, but going after a guy like that AFTER assessing your situation during spring doesn't strike me as a good sign.

Durr is an above-average B1G player, but beyond that the starters are unremarkable. Howden has played a lot of football, but not particularly well. Nubin was put in a tough position last year with the shortened offseason, but again, he really struggled -- so much that he was overtaken by a true Frosh who'd also had a shortened offseason. People are losing their minds about Terrell Smith making two decent plays in the spring game, but we're talking about a guy who was about 6th on the depth chart last year behind former WR Philip Howard. Lot riding on rapid improvement from Nubin, Howden, and Glaze, a return to form for Smith, or sudden impact from a true Frosh. Color me concerned.
 

nsmike said:
It sounds like PJ isn't comfortable with the depth in the Defensive Backfield.
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I think we are good with Durr and Smith as starters at CB; lots of experience and talent. Howard is a pretty good back-up. But when you are talking about a true freshman, Walley, as possibly being in the two-deep--or maybe Ortiz, when he shows up this fall and can be assessed--it probably makes great sense to add some talent + playing experience at the position. At present, we are one injury away from the unknown/unproven at CB. PJ is a fan of depth for multiple reasons. Adding some quality depth at CB would greatly improve the durability of our D over a long schedule. Actually, I am more concerned about Safety; not just depth but our starters.
 


Crazy to find a negative in our coach continually trying to make the team better. Perish the thought we might be a program at the forefront of a new evolution in the game/system.

Yet, some of these same exact posters are concerned we are NOT getting good enough transfers for the hoops program.

Anybody else seeing a double standard here?
 

WriterGoph said:
Crazy to find a negative in our coach continually trying to make the team better. Perish the thought we might be a program at the forefront of a new evolution in the game/system.

Yet, some of these same exact posters are concerned we are NOT getting good enough transfers for the hoops program.

Anybody else seeing a double standard here?
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It's pretty much this:
wgfbe2D.gif
 


You can literally hear the trembling in Boomtime and Plato's voices as the season approaches and they realize they are gonna run out of storylines to try and create negativity and drama. Melting like the freaking witch on Wizard of Oz!😂😘😛🤏🍆
 

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