Fairmont’s touchdown machine of a 2025 RB Elijah Johnson’s speed is impossible to ignore in his junior highlight tape. One of the fastest players in all of Outstate Minnesota, Johnson put together an accomplished junior season that saw him tally 1,478 rushing yards, 21 TDs, and 8.3 YPC to earn All-District, District RB MVP, and All-Area Player of the Year, and he did so in style, showcasing one of the most complete, balanced, and deep skillsets at the RB position that the state’s 2025 class has to offer. The 4.56 he posted at the PrepRedzoneMN Stock-Up Showcase this past December was in full effect in his 2023 highlights.

With good burst and noticeably effective acceleration from a dead stop, once Johnson shifts into that top gear the speed really begins to dominate and leaves defenders 10-20+ yards behind him and getting a great view of his backside as he trots into the endzone without being able to even sniff the RBs socks. The 5’9, 200 lb. rocket of a RB explodes through holes with visible burst, putting defenders on their heels and allowing him to capitalize with straight-line speed or taking advantage of panicking LBs and DBs bearing down on him out of control. Johnson sees the cutback well and possesses great vision, a powerful lateral cutting ability, and the pace to fire through the first and second levels of a defense before they can seemingly react. The 200 lber. can bounce off contact and does well after first contact and when things are chaotic and defenders are rapidly trying to corral him, and he owns an array of elusive moves with the rock in hand. The great balance he shows through contact in all kinds of situations is also aided by his quickness at the tackle point and rapid footwork to make would-be tacklers miss, and although his speed is the icing on the cake that is his skillset, there’s plenty of additional tools and strengths in his skillset that get me confident in his ability to find the same kind of success at the next level. Johnson is an exciting beast of a small-school RB whose recruitment I am very eager to follow and whose future college home I am itching to uncover.

1313 yards, 19 touchdowns

Johnson makes getting in and out of his cuts look easy. One of the reasons he makes it look easy is his athletic ability, but it is much more than that. Johnson runs low to the ground and does a solid job of getting in behind his blockers and making himself hard to find. Once he sees the hole, he explodes from behind his blockers and is at full speed within a couple of steps. With his naturally low pad level, the junior is a nightmare in the open field because all you have to hit is shoulder pads and knees. Despite his size – maybe more accurately because of his size – he is physical in the sense that to get Johnson down, you must square him up. Arm tackles will do defenders no good.

Elijah was another impressive RB from Session I. The junior caught my attention in the drill work portion of the day and the 1 vs 1s. In drills, Elijah showed the flexibility to play low to the ground while staying square over his feet and strong. In those positions, Johnson also showed that he could still play fast and be agile. In 1 on 1s Elijah was a true mismatch. He ran away from LBs easily on intermediate/deep routes. Plus his explosive agility allowed him to open up space on short passes. After the Showcase Elijah still caught my attention. Looking through results, Elijah put up a 4.56 40, 4.53 shuttle time, and 8’10” broad jump. Make sure to check out the film of the 5’8″ 195 lbs back.

Another standout RB in Minnesota’s 2025 class, Fairmont junior Elijah Johnson Elijah Johnson 5'9" | 190 lbs | RB Fairmont | 2025 State MN led the Cardinals rushing efforts in a 48-0 blanketing of Tri-City United and finished with 9 carries for 152 yards and 3 TDs.

Compact build and low center of gravity are ideal for the RB position and helped Fairmont’s stud sophomore ball carrier Elijah Johnson create some exciting runs in 2022, ranking him as RB3 and #36 overall in the recent PRzMN 2025 rankings update. Good burst and possessing the speed to turn the corner and take advantage of daylight, Johnson can get to the third level of an opposing defense in a jiffy and also shows off some exciting shake and shiftiness when cutting and changing direction. I also love his combination of contact balance + a mean stiff arm, and he knows how to use it, getting defenders off balance and easier to shuck aside and/or into the turf. He does a good job of remaining upright through contact and can break tackles in a variety of different ways. Fun to watch and hard to tackle makes for another strong finish to the Top-3 of the 2025 RB rankings.

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