THE SKINNY
Height/Weight: 6-foot-6, 242-pounds
Hometown/High School: Holy Names High School (Windsor, ON)
Ranking: .9622
Notable Offers: Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State
HIGHLIGHTS:
THE TALE:
It has been a long and winding road to get to this point but on Monday afternoon, four-star tight end prospect Theo Johnson committed to Penn State. Over the course of the last few months, it was a three-team race between Iowa, Michigan, and the Nittany Lions. At times, it may have seemed like each school could land the uber-talented tight end but the Nittany Lions have been consistently in the picture throughout his recruitment and that may have been the difference over time. Johnson did visit Penn State quite a bit during his recruitment, with his last visit coming for this year’s White Out against Michigan. For the Nittany Lions 2020 recruiting class, Johnson is commitment No.28 and will be joining Virginia athlete Tyler Warren as the tight ends of the class.
Outlook:
At most programs, Theo Johnson could be a tight end who plays right away. At Penn State, Johnson may see some playing time in 2020 but if he does it will be in passing situations as the Canadian prospect has played mostly wide receiver for Holy Names High School in Windsor, Ontario so a slight position change will be in order. With all that being said, barring injury, the Nittany Lions coaching staff could take their time with Johnson considering the depth they’ve built at the tight end position. Heading into 2020, the Nittany Lions top three-tight ends are Pat Freiermuth, Zack Kuntz, and Brenton Strange. With a likely first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft leading the way, Kuntz and Strange will be seeing their own playing time limited in 2020. However, once Johnson does take the field for the Nittany Lions, the expectations will be high especially with Penn State’s recent success at developing tight ends. Long term, Johnson projects to be a starting tight end for the Nittany Lions at one point with potential game-changing like abilities in the receiving game. While it’s too early to make comparisons between him and someone such as Pat Freiermuth, the two tight ends do share similar size and skill sets coming out of high school.