Tyler Johnson holds scholarship offers from Minnestoa, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Tyler Johnson, a 6-foot-2, 179-pound junior from Minneapolis (MN) North, is one of the state’s top two-sport athletes. Johnson led Minneapolis North to a 12-1 record on the gridiron, losing to Dawson-Boyd in the Class A semifinals. He led the team in rushing and passing.
Johnson has landed scholarship offers from Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota in football and North Dakota State for basketball.
Johnson averaged 15.7 points per game as the Polars finished 24-7 on the hardwood, losing to Marantha 69-67 in overtime. He has scored in double figures in all but five games and has eight games of twenty or more points, including a season-high 30 points. Johnson shot 45.9% from the field, 68.0% from the line and 28.3% from beyond the arc. He passed the 1,000 point mark for his career during the season.
Gopher Hole recently caught up Johnson to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your football recruitment right now?
Tyler Johnson: So far, after Wisconsin offered.
Gopher Hole: You have the three offers Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. When did Wisconsin offer you?
Tyler Johnson: They offered me back in February, like February 18th.
Gopher Hole: What other schools are you hearing from?
Tyler Johnson: I didn’t know that I was supposed to go on a visit to Michigan State, but they said I was on their visit list. You could say them a little bit. Penn State. A little bit from Iowa State now.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about going to some football camps? I know that it is hard with AAU basketball.
Tyler Johnson: The latest football camp that I went to was the adidas camp in Chicago. I am going to Rivals on May 3rd down in St. Louis.
Gopher Hole: I know that Minnesota is recruiting you and they got six commits including four Minnesota kids, Carter Coughlin, Jo Jo Garcia, Thomas Barber and Phillip Howard. Do you know those kids very well?
Tyler Johnson: I know Phil Howard. We used to play in a league together, basketball, football and baseball leagues together and we kind of grew up in the same area over there on the North Side.
Gopher Hole: I know that Minnesota has made a commitment to get the top in-state kids to stay in-state. Is that something that they have talked to you about?
Tyler Johnson: They have really talked to me about it just like that, but they are staying in good contact with me.
Gopher Hole: Have you even thought about when you are going to try to decide on a school?
Tyler Johnson: I thought that I would try to make my decision in the fall, probably. That is probably what is best for me.
Gopher Hole: You have the basketball offer from North Dakota State. Anything else?
Tyler Johnson: Not so far. I haven’t heard from any schools for a while.
Gopher Hole: Are you thinking about football more now?
Tyler Johnson: It is still out there. I’m not leaning hard one way just yet. I am just trying to stay with both so far.
Gopher Hole: How about your basketball season. I know that you had a good year, but came up just a little bit short against Marantha for the second year in a row. Does that give you even more motivation for next year?
Tyler Johnson: Yes. We have been talking about it. We weren’t planning on losing, but it happened. Next year, we are looking forward to going to the state tournament, plus it is my senior year for me and a few other seniors. We are not trying to go out in the section finals again.
Gopher Hole: You have the three pretty nice offers so far. If I had told you a year ago that you would have offers from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, would you have been surprised?
Tyler Johnson: My football coach had told me the offers would come after the season, so “don’t be too hard on yourself.” I wouldn’t say that I was surprised. I knew that they were going to come soon. I had faith in myself, that I would just have to wait and be patient.
Gopher Hole: Does that make you want to work even harder to try to hear from even more schools?
Tyler Johnson: Right. I am not going to settle for just these three. I am going to go hard and look to get more.
Gopher Hole: When you watch football re there certain players that you focus on when you are watching games or certain positions you watch since you play quarterback and other spots?
Tyler Johnson: Right. I have got a few different favorite players that I like, like Percy Harvin. I like Cam Newton and Braxton Miller. He is an Ohio State guy. I like the way that they play and I have always liked the way that they play.
Gopher Hole: Is there a certain school that you would love to hear from that you maybe haven’t heard from yet?
Tyler Johnson: No, there isn’t a certain school.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations this spring and summer for your D1 Minnesota AAU team?
Tyler Johnson: We want to go out here, have fun and also win. We don’t want to just out here and play. We want to win. Everybody likes winning, so that is what we are going to do.