Oklahoma Sooners Football: Four-Star Utah Commit Jaylon Johnson Visits OU

Yesterday four-star cornerback Jaylon Johnson tweeted that he is making an official visit to Oklahoma this weekend.

247’s composite ranking considers Johnson the ninth best cornerback, ninth best California product and 78th-best player in the 2017 recruiting class. Johnson verbally committed to Utah in late October and is listed as a “hard” commit—but his visit is raising some eyebrows, as it’s Johnson’s first since the commitment.

Obviously the Sooners have had success in California, and Fresno, before. Notably they nabbed five-star linebacker Caleb Kelly out of Clovis West High School last year, and the true freshman has turned into one of OU’s best defenders. Johnson, out of Central High, surely noticed.

One thing I love about Johnson’s film is the way he bullies wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. He might not get away with so much contact at the college level, but it’s nice to see a guy who knows how to disrupt routes and fight through blocks to stay engaged in the play. Johnson is already a college-sized corner at 6-1 and 180 pounds, and a few extra might help him perfect his already-good tackling. I’d like to see him get his head around and look for the ball a little more, but I think Kerry Cooks’s unit could really benefit from a physical dude like this. Obviously, he’d be in the hunt for playing time right away.

Utah is still the team to beat for Johnson—his older brother, a small-time DB at UCLA, is rumored to be transferring there—but it’s hard not to notice when your future program drops three of its final four games. The Sooners have amazing momentum and a top-5 recruiting class to entice Johnson with.

Apparently USC is also in the mix for his services. Between OU, SC and Utah, Johnson has shown that staying close to home is not a huge consideration. If he was going to go to Salt Lake, might as well come to the Sooner state. He’d be a welcome addition.