THE SKINNY

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 175 pounds
Hometown/High School: Colonial Heights, VA (Life Christian Academy)
Ranking: ★★★ (0.8884 247Sports Composite)
Notable Offers: Florida, Florida State, NC State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas A&M

HIGHLIGHTS

THE TALE

Joseph Johnson was offered during a visit to Penn State for their second junior day of the spring. He quickly took to social media to show his affection for the Nittany Lion program and how much he enjoyed his visit. Following the visit, he declared Penn State his leader.

To the surprise of many, he committed, seemingly out of nowhere, to NC State during a visit in late March. Then, to the surprise of almost no one, he de-committed from the Wolfpack in early May.

Johnson returned to Penn State for an official visit the June 18th-20th, and this visit sealed the deal for the Nittany Lions with Joseph announcing his commitment on July 2.

OUTLOOK

Due to his size, Johnson could play safety at the collegiate level. However, Penn State’s staff loves cornerbacks with the size and athleticism (4.49 40-yard dash) of Johnson so expect the Virginia athlete to stay at home at cornerback.

Johnson has good ball skills and uses his length to his advantage in coverage. He does a nice job of running with receivers, and has the stride to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. While he is not afraid to get physical and help in run support, his form tackling will need work in college.

When he arrives on campus, Johnson should have the opportunity to make an early impact. He’ll need to add quite a bit of weight to his 6-foot-2 frame, but cornerback is one of the spots where freshmen can get on the field earlier than anticipated so this one is far from a redshirt guarantee.