The ’27 DB class out West is a strong one and Murrieta Valley (Calif.) corner Darius Johnson is yet another national recruit from the region.
Johnson has a nice combination of length and athleticism, pushing 6-foot-2 and he clocked a personal best 10.94-100-meters last Spring. He’s a twitchy, reactionary athlete who projects as a shut down corner and also plays a physical game in run support.
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He’s currently rated the No. 226 player nationally in the Rivals Industry Ranking and the No. 22 player overall in the state and his ceiling is extremely high.
Johnson plans to be active this spring and just locked in his first official visit to Michigan.
“I’m visiting Michigan June 19,” Johnson said. “I love the coaching staff and have a great relationship with the DB coach Jernaro Gilford.
“Jernaro was the first coach to offer me my freshmen year when he was at BYU. He was one of the first coaches to see my potential and that meant a lot to me.”
The football tradition at Michigan resonates with Johnson as well.
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“Michigan is a great program and they are known for winning,” Johnson said. “They have 12 National Championships and that’s huge. They bring in top talent and every year you’re going to be surrounded by players who are going on to the next level.
“Like I said, I already know Jernaro really well and now I’m working on building relationships with the rest of the staff and I’ve heard great things about everyone. I’m going to try and visit March 28 to check out a spring practice too.’
Johnson plans to take a few more visits but is still working out dates.
“I will be setting up a few more official trips within the next few weeks,” Johnson said. “I plan to visit Oregon, Cal, UCLA and Kansas. Cal is really coming up for me. I wasn’t able to make it to their Junior Day but I’ll get out there in the spring for sure.
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“I like the new staff at UCLA as well and of course Oregon is already a power program and was one of my dream schools. Kansas been on me hard my whole recruitment so I definitely want to see them. There’s a few more schools in there as well and I’m not closing the door to anyone right now.”
