Tyreek Johnson reminds coach of previous USC, Clemson standouts

When Brian Jackson took over the Lakewood High football program, he already knew a little something about Tyreek Johnson. He’d seen the rising junior at a strength meet, and the kid stood out.

“I thought, that’s a big guy right there,” Jackson said. “Big guy, athletic looking. When I came on board in the spring, that’s going to be an offensive lineman right there.”

But that plan didn’t last long.

“We tried him at offensive line,” Jackson said. “He did what he was told. He tried his best. Put him on defense, it was just natural. That pretty much sums that up. He’s a defensive guy.”

Johnson will be a defensive guy when he joins South Carolina in 2017. The recent commit is a 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end, another potential piece for a front looking to return to a high level.

USC coach Will Muschamp and staff went after him quickly, and his first trip to campus as a prospect left an impression.

“They have a good football program,” Johnson said. “It’s just the people to be around. I think that everybody has a good mindset, trying to help each other get to where they want to be at.”

The South Carolina coaches reached out in mid-January, eventually getting Johnson to make the trip for junior day. The offer came about a week later, and Jackson remembers his reserved star didn’t get too high on it, even though it was the first big offer outside smaller regional schools such as Coastal Carolina.

He made a few trips to Columbia before finally pulling the trigger and becoming a Gamecock.

For someone living so close, he said he didn’t attend many Gamecocks games growing up. He’d mostly been a linebacker coming up, with a father who played wide receiver and defensive back in high school and an uncle who found success at a lower level of college.

Jackson was told when Johnson first showed up to join the high school team, he was 5-foot-6, 170 pounds. Johnson said he shifted from linebacker to defensive line in eighth grade, and despite the dalliance on offense, there was always something drawing him to rushing from the outside.

“It seems more physical, going head up against somebody all the time,” Johnson said. “Always fast-paced and you’ve always got to watch what the person in front of you is doing.”

A season ago, he totaled 89 tackles with 21 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. The particulars of the scheme could switch, but Johnson will be playing on the edge, either with a hand on the ground or standing up.

Jackson played for Clemson, and sees potential in his star player.

“His first step off the ball is probably the best I’ve ever seen in high school,” Jackson said. “He reminds me a lot of watching some of the better guys at USC or Clemson over the years. Just that first step. As it got longer in the season, his knack of finding the ball, knack of separation from offensive linemen, he learned how to use his body real well.”

As Johnson looks ahead to a senior year with the Gators and the move to Columbia after that, he hasn’t lost sight of education. His older sister graduated from nursing school at USC, and he’s thinking about going into some kind of medical field. His preferred classes are in science, and Jackson said he carries a 3.95 GPA.

Jackson even remembers tracking Johnson down in a science class and asking what he was doing. Johnson’s answer: He went for more work.

“Just in case football doesn’t work out, I need something to lean on in my life,” Johnson said.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Tyreek Johnson reminds coach of previous USC, Clemson standouts."