Keyshawn Johnson Jr. turns down Alabama, Ohio State, USC for Nebraska
Six visits apparently did the trick.
That’s how many times Keyshawn Johnson Jr., the son of former NFL receiver Keyshawn Johnson, visited Lincoln. Those, ultimately, won him over.
The 6-1, 195-pound receiver turned down the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and USC for Nebraska, which he announced in a Bleacher Report video on Wednesday.
Johnson Jr. said in the announcement video that he wanted to take “his own path.”
The Calabasas High School (CA) junior was recruited by the Huskers during the Bo Pelini era, and maintained his interest in the program after Mike Riley took over after the 2014 season. Riley was the offensive coordinator at USC when Keyshawn Johnson Sr. was a star receiver there in the mid-1990s.
He acknowledge the importance of that:
Relationships and trust go a long way in making this decision #GBR
— Keyshawn Johnson (@keyshawn) March 23, 2016
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Johnson Jr.’s cousin is former Ohio State receiver Mike Thomas, who is expected to be selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft. Despite Thomas’ recruiting pitch, his connection to Nebraska won out.
Riley was fired up about the news:
The #Huskers just got better today, what a time to be a Husker! #GBR 🔴🌽🏈
— Mike Riley (@Coach_Riley) March 23, 2016
The four-star recruit is rated as the 27th-best wideout and the 220th player overall in the 2017 class, according to 247sports’ composite rankings. Johnson Jr. is the third player and the highest-rated recruit in Nebraska’s 2017 class.
More importantly, Johnson Jr. could help Nebraska’s pipeline of recruiting out West. He already came out and said that he wanted to commit to a school early so that he could recruit other players in California to come to Lincoln.
If Riley and the Huskers have it their way, he’ll do exactly that.
Here’s a look at Johnson’s highlight tape from Calabasas High: