Arkansas recently offered scholarships to two prospects from Rayville, La.: Defensive lineman Gerrand Johnson and tight end/ defensive end Quentin Griffin.
Johnson, 6-1, 270, 5.0 seconds in the 40-yard dash, also has an offer from Nebraska and is getting strong interest from Alabama, while Griffin, 6-3, 230, 4.5 also has an offer from Alabama.
Johnson, who reports a 330-pound bench press, 490 squat and a pro-shuttle time a 4.34, hasn’t always been high on football.
“I really didn’t start liking football until the 8th grade,” Johnson said. “Arkansas was one of the first schools I followed. I remember watching Felix Jones and Darren McFadden. Those were my two favorite players.
Arkansas and Nebraska were my first two loves in football.”
He recorded 91 tackles, 7 sacks, 6 forced fumbles and 3 recovered fumbles with one returned 15 yards for a score.
“I pride myself about being around the ball.” Johnson said.
Johnson along with Griffin plan to accompany Coach Bo Barton to Arkansas’ junior day on April 17.
“I’m working 24/7,” Johnson said. “This past summer we had 28 designated workout days and I did 44 of them. I’m consistently working hard to get to the ball.”
While Johnson is fond of several modern day defensive linemen, he also has old school taste when it comes to the NFL.
“Deacon Jones and Bob Lilly are the best two defensive linemen ever to grace the football field,” Johnson said. “Ever chance I get I look at video on them. Deacon Jones does a little too much of illegal stuff, the head slap. Bob Lilly keeps his arms steady and doesn’t let a lot of offensive linemen get to his body. He demands a lot of respect from everyone.“
Looking to be the very best he can be, Johnson desires a hard-nosed approach at the next level.
“I’m looking for stability and the mindset of the coach,” Johnson said. “I want to go somewhere they’re going to get any ounce out of me. When I don’t feel I can give any more, they’ll ring me up more and leave nothing for tomorrow.”
Johnson wants to see how a school’s former players are doing after college.
“I want to see how successful the players are that don’t make it to the NFL,” Johnson said. “I want to see how successful they are after their careers.”
Johnson, who wants to be a forest ranger after college, said he stays in contact with recruiting coordinator Tim Horton and gets e-mail updates from on-campus recruiting coordinator Dann Kabala. He said he wants to be certain before pledging to a school.
“My mother and I will pray about it,” Johnson said. “Whenever I’m 100% sure, I’ll know which school is for me I’ll commit because I don’t want commit and then change my mind because that’s not fair to the college and it’s not fair to everyone else. I’m going to wait and make sure.”
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