Q&A: 2022 Ponchatoula RB/LB Braydon Johnson

A well-known trio of receivers and defensive backs headline a talented Ponchatoula roster, but do not figure to be alone headed to college from this 2022 class. For all their own success and accolades, [player_tooltip player_id="136477" first="Jacoby" last="Mathews"], [player_tooltip player_id="136481" first="Amorion" last="Walker"] and [player_tooltip player_id="128246" first="Kody" last="Finley"] can’t help but sing the praises of and share the love and support for their teammates. And big running back [player_tooltip player_id="136657" first="Braydon" last="Johnson"] may top the list of the underrated Green Wave players in whom a college will eventually land a steal. The 6-foot, 210-pound athlete has been an impact player in the backfield and at linebacker during his high school career with his combination of high-level physicality and 4.5-second 40-yard dash speed. In-state programs such as Tulane, Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese State were the first to recognize his talent and begin recruiting him. But others, including Texas-San Antonio, have started to take increasing notice of late. &nbsp; <strong>Take me through the game plan a little bit to let you kind of set that tone a little bit and then get the passing going off of that.</strong> We can always run the ball. So run the ball, they start committing to the run, then we go to the pass. Give it to me, and I’ll do my thing. Run the ball, then throw the ball. We were mixing it up, so they didn’t really know what to do. They were confused. And we came out with the win. <strong>Your thing was breaking longer and longer runs as you kind of wore ’em down. How good did you feel once you got going and it seemed like it took three, four or five of them to bring you down once you got rolling?</strong> I mean, I felt real good. At first, I was really tired. I don’t know why I was getting tired real fast. Then I warmed up and got my legs going. Then after that, they really couldn’t bring me down. <strong>And you have more speed than I think people realize until they see you in person where once you hit and turn up field, you gain a lot of ground really quickly. What do you run?</strong> 4.5, or into 4.4, yeah. <strong>As you get a little green in front of you, how good do you feel once you see that?</strong> It’ll take me a little minute to go. But once I get going, I don’t really think anybody can get to me or get an angle on me. <strong>Where y’all are this season, undefeated midway through now and one of the teams that viewed as one of the top contenders again in 5A, how have you felt about the first half of what you guys have been able to accomplish, what you’ve seen from yourselves and where that measuring stick is moving forward?</strong> The first couple halves of our first games, we’ve been starting out real slow, but we shake back in the second half. I felt good the first half. We came out real good. And the second half we came out real good. I felt like we knew they were ranked No. 1, and we just felt like we had to come out good in the first half and don’t wait to the second half to do what we do. And I think that’s what we did. <strong>What is the mentality or mindset overall and if there are any mantras that you guys carry with you of this team overall? You guys had a great team last year and fell short of where you wanted to get. How hungry are you? What’s the mentality? All of those sort of things. </strong> Right now we’ve got one mindset, and that’s the state championship. And that’s what we’re looking forward to Friday by Friday is to get to the state championship. We know that we can win the district, and we might blow ’em out. But right now it’s get to the state championship. <strong>How have things been going for you college-wise? I know you had some schools that have reached out and some offers early on even. Who have been some of the schools you’ve heard from consistently recently and what have they had to say?</strong> Right now, I’ve got McNeese, Tulane and Southeastern. Right now it’s slowed down since those three. I’ve got a couple schools hitting me up, but nothing really too serious. I’m not really too worried about that right now. I’m just going to keep playing and doing what I do and hopefully get more to come.