Johnson is a big time recruit out of Joliet Catholic. He recently committed to Wisconsin, but before he heads off to Madison, Johnson is ready to wreck a few more games. The 6’2, 285 lb defensive tackle had another big night for the Hilltoppers, tallying a sack and a tackle for loss in a shutout victory over Marmion. Johnson has a quick first step, a strong lower base, and uses his arms well to beat opposing blockers in both the run game and the pass game. As JCA rolls into the playoffs, they have to count on guys like Johnson to eliminate opposing teams rushing attacks, and Johnson is certainly up for the challenge.

The Plainfield product and Joliet Catholic Academy junior is one of my favorite prospects in the 2024 class, in large part due to his multi-sport dominance and accomplishments. I am a sucker for football/wrestler standouts, and Dillan Johnson Dillan Johnson 6'1" | 280 lbs | DL Joliet Catholic | 2024 State IL is as good as they get, rated as the #1 heavyweight wrestler in the entire nation and a three-star prospect on the gridiron. He’ll be featured in an upcoming PrepRedzone Midwest special highlighting the top football/wrestling two-sport stars in Americas Heartland, so for now we’ll focus on his gridiron exploits only. The 6’2, 280 lber. came into the season without an offer but earned plenty of recruiting attention of P5, FBS, and FCS suitors, and things came into fruition after the fall concluded, as SEC Mizzou kicked things off on January 8th and Iowa State, Miami (OH), Wyoming, Western Michigan, Akron, Bowling Green State, Cincinnati, Old Dominion, Cal-Berkeley, Kent State, Kansas State, and Tulane shortly following suit. On tape, the DT definitely looks like a stud wrestler, showing off excellent hand usage and short area quickness to keep blockers off-balance and guessing in both run and pass support. Johnson’s first step, ability to get skinny to slip past blockers, and break down to make the play at high speed is also strong, and his nimbleness and array of ways to beat blocking attempts is diverse and impressive for a 3T of his size. Johnson can beat blocking attempts with such ease that opponents could rarely get even a hand on him in his junior tape. Definitely a rare specimen at a premium position whose hard work is paying off and then some. Keep it up, Dillan!