The No. 1 prospect in the state of West Virginia and one of the top cornerbacks in the 2021 class has Tennessee among his top teams moving forward.
Isaiah Johnson is a four-star defensive back who plays for Bluefield High School in Bluefield, WV. He tweeted out a graphic showing his top eight schools in his recruitment on Tuesday, and the Vols made the cut along with LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Texas, USC, and West Virginia.
Humble n Bless’d ! 5Forever pic.twitter.com/LEE8UpnyIa
— Isaiah Johnson (@IsaiahJohns21) June 2, 2020
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Johnson is the No. 75 overall prospect, the No. 6 cornerback, and the top-rated recruit in West Virginia.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound athlete holds nearly two dozen scholarship offers, but he’ll be focusing on these eight schools the most in the coming months.
Johnson suffered a season-ending injury in Bluefield’s second game of the 2019 season. He only appeared in six quarters during his junior campaign, but he’s maintained his spot as one of the top defensive backs in the 2021 class despite that setback.
Tennessee extended an offer to Johnson back on August 24, 2018. He came to campus to attend a camp on UT’s campus in early June of 2019, and the Vols have been among his top schools for a while. He has a good relationship with defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley, and ace recruiter Brian Niedermeyer is also involved with his recruitment with the Vols.
Not only that, but Johnson has family that lives close to Knoxville. Johnson’s grandfather and wife live only about an hour away from UT’s campus.
Looking at Johnson’s sophomore tape, his speed immediately catches attention. He plays on both sides of the ball and uses that quickness effectively as both a receiver and a defensive back. Johnson makes good reads on defense and does a great job of following his assignment. His height and physical presence makes him intimidating on defense, and he can take down ball carriers one-on-one pretty well. He has the size to play safety, but he looks comfortable at cornerback too.
The Vols’ 2021 class currently ranks No. 2 in the country and No. 1 in the SEC. Tennessee has 24 prospects committed to them at this point, and six of those commits project as defensive backs.
