One of a loaded and still-growing crop of 2024s out of the Land of Lincoln, Waubonsie Valley DE/TE hybrid Julian Johnson was busy this fall with unofficial gameday visits, and like many Illinois natives does a good job of getting out and competing on the Chicagoland camp circuit, and things all came to a head after his junior tape made the rounds, resulting in his first offer from Northern Illinois in early January. His stock has continued to climb and climb, and what began with eight FBS and FCS offers advanced to recent P5 offers from Rutgers, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, and Boston College, with Furman and Bowling Green State mixed in for good measure. Schools are recruiting Johnson to play both offense or defense, and his outstanding length, speed, and athleticism will keep them interested and locked in for the rest of his recruitment. Great ball skills, hands, and toughness, the speed to run down plays as the backside DE, and long arms that help him shed blocks or stay attached to defenders, depending on his position that rep. He plays WR right now and shows the ability to take the top off the defense, but his frame screams TE at the next level and I’m sure potential suitors are taking note of his willingness to block as well. Johnson is like a long, athletic ball of clay right now that CFB programs are itching to get their hands on.

The Aurora’s product alluring size (6’5, 215) and positional versatility (DE/TE/LB/WR) from 2022 immediately jump off the page when looking at Waubonsie Valley’s Julian Johnson, and things get better from there. After a busy fall on the recruiting trail and about half a dozen unofficial gameday visits, Johnson’s hard work began to pay off in January when Northern Illinois reached out to become his first college football offer. After that good news on January 4th, the likes of Ball State, Miami (OH), Western Michigan, and Illinois State all joined in his recruitment, and his size, dynamic ability, and 81″ wingspan should all help him to be an eye-catcher on the summer camp circuit. During the fall, Johnson displayed a knack for coming down with contested catches as a pass catcher and used his long strides to cover a ton of ground in pursuit and has some good reps running down QBs who are rolling out to the opposite side of the field. Also shows some giddy up as DE out of his stance and when he gets the ball in his hands offensively. He looks good on both sides of the ball and it’s hard to not love his length and how much ground he covers with those gazelle-like strides. More offers coming!

They grow Tight Ends on trees at Waubonsie Valley and Julian is the next great branch on that tree. A huge prospect at 6’6, he plays faster than the safeties covering him and at 215 pounds bigger than the linebackers trying to tackle him. Julian runs crisp routes when lined up outside and does a good job of catching the ball with his hands. He plays all over the field currently for the Warriors but I look for him to add some size at the next level and be an elite TE. He holds multiple offers already (SIU, ISU, WMU, Ball State) and I would expect that list to multiply as the spring/summer progress. His Twitter handle is  @julianrjohnson