He is coming to Notre Dame's camp June 24-27. He is a big time prospect from out west and has offers from ND, USC, MICH, Auburn and some other PAC-10 schools. I think he is being recruited as a DT and has the size 6'-4" and 265lbs already so he can get a lot bigger. Doesn't claim a leader, just states he is looking at all the schools considering him and wants to learn more about them so getting him on campus is great. Need to get him back for an official in the fall. He will start eliminating schools this summer when he starts visiting.

In a 3-4 his size sounds like a DE.

ND is recruiting ethan johnson to play DE but it won't matter he'll be going to USC.

ND is recruiting ethan johnson to play DE but it won't matter he'll be going to USC.

Agreed

While it irks me that you guys say his mind is practically made up, I tend to agree that he looks like USC's to lose. Sorta similar to how Brandon Newman is ours to lose. Not the same kind of recruitment, but we'd need to wow Ethan on a visit.

 

And I agree: if they're recruiting Hafis Williams as a DE (trust me, I've made sure of it), then Ethan Johnson falls into the same category.

Yep, just like Arrelious Benn was ours to lose.

Yep, just like Arrelious Benn was ours to lose.

 

Who? Name isn't familiar to me.....

He shall remain nameless. He is the receiver from D.C now.

glad to hear he's coming to our camp. i still like the fact that this kid had something to say about ND after his visit to SC.

 

most of the article was about how his trip was and how much he liked SC, but he still mentioned us and we got a paragraph, so I'm happy with that for now.

 

When he visits ND, hopefully we WOW him, so he can jump on board.

I would be shocked if he didn't pick SC.

I would be shocked if he didn't pick SC.

 

There have been bigger shocks in the recruiting world... like a D.C. receiver last year. Let's see what he says after he comes to our camp. Maybe he will like it so much he will take an official.

Rivals finally has new film up, on Ethan Johnson - now we can see a little more clearly why he's such a touted prospect:

 

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=54548&sport=1

 

Now, lets do a little bit of a comparison, to another similar prospect, Garret Goebel:

 

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=60367&sport=1

 

When it comes to size, they're virtually the same player. They're separated by two pounds, and one inch in height.

 

When I look at Goebel, two things jump out at me.

 

First, he makes sound decisions. I saw a couple plays where he was able to keep contain, rather than get too anxious and take a bad angle. There's one in particular, the film posted on 2/22, starting at 1:05, that impressed me from that standpoint. Second, he has some very good technique when it comes to getting leverage and shedding blockers. Whereas Johnson relied on brute strength on his film, Goebel used a couple swim moves, and more technique to accomplish the same task.

 

When I look at Johnson, two things jump out at me as well.

 

First, he is an explosive athlete. Is he a Marvin Austin, who can run in the 4.7s? No, but practically nobody is. Ethan is very good off the ball, and has very surprising speed when he moves. There are a couple plays where the quarterback was surprised and didn't know what to do - similar to how some QB's reacted to Omar Hunter's speed on film. Second, his tackling and presence has some meanness to it. Goebel's film showed a lot of arm tackling - I'm pretty sure his hardest tackles involve him throwing someone on the ground. Meanwhile, Ethan had a few plays - particularly the early highlights - where he lowers the boom on a ball carrier, and personally escorts them into the ground.

 

Personally, I can see why the Irish offered Ethan first. I'd say he has more potential as a division I prospect - so long as he gets good coaching. And considering the offers he's got, I don't think coaching will be a big problem for him.

 

Since the Irish have already secured some run stuffers in Hunter, Newman, and Hafis, its my opinion that Johnson would better compliment the rest of the DL class, carrying a bit more of a pass rusher's pedigree. Though keep in mind, Goebel would be an excellent get as well.

In a 3-4 his size sounds like a DE.

Thats what they are recruiting him as and I hear that he's now closer to 280 than the 265 listed.

weirder things have happened than Johnson possibly picking ND down the road. If he's as good as people think he is he won't be threatened by the players we have or are bringing in for PT. Ditto for the competition at SC. I think we have a shot, more so than say we did with Everson Griffin.

If he's as good as people think he is he won't be threatened by the players we have or are bringing in for PT. Ditto for the competition at SC. I think we have a shot, more so than say we did with Everson Griffin.

yeah we have a much better chance with johnson then we ever had with EG. with his size, strength and talent i think we would see the field at DE a lot sooner at ND then he would at USC and with C. Brown at ND he would get NFL coaching. he'll be tough to pull from USC but CB could do it.

EG silently committed to USC during his summer camp visit, they just kept it quiet until December so when he visited ND during the fall, it was basically just for fun since ND was picking up the tab.

 

Now Ethan Johnson is a completely different story. He's paying his own way to visit us and that definitely means he has serious interest. No one is willing to spend about $1k just for kicks.