National Signing Day 2018: Top 10 diamonds in the rough

Like Louisville and West Virginia, Oregon has long had to travel great distances for most of its talented high school prospects. However, the Ducks usually concentrate their efforts on the West Coast, and California is the most common home state for players on the roster. Therefore, when Oregon lands a commitment from a player thousands of miles away in Georgia, it raises out antennae. There’s got to be something special about a kid if coaches are willing to make a commitment

Andrew Johnson is a native of Tifton in south Georgia. Listed as a 6-foot-2, 222-pound linebacker prospect, Johnson often played as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end until his junior year in high school. Though undersized for the position at the college level, Johnson was big and strong enough to take on blockers at the line of scrimmage and showed the explosive first step that should make him a good outside pass rusher at the next level.

Johnson played middle linebacker as a senior and was also a standout sprinter on the track team. He used great speed and acceleration to fly around the field in high school, and it should help him in coverage as well.

As an aside, Oregon also earned a commitment from 6-foot-7, 355-pound three-star tackle Justin Johnson, who played alongside Leddie Brown at Neumann Goretti last season. However, it’s important to note that neither Johnson signed with the Ducks during the early period, which opens the possibility of a late switch. Andrew Johnson has had interest from an impressive list of schools closer to home, including Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State and Ole Miss.