The LJ Johnson sweepstakes have come to a conclusion.
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The four-star running back from Cypress, Texas will join Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M Aggies this fall.
Johnson plays for Cy-Fair High School and is considered one of the best running backs in the 2021 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite.
As far as results go, Johnson has been incredibly productive. He was only able to get into one game during his freshman year, but he took the starting running back job as a sophomore and "ran" with it, rushing for 1,139 yards and 20 touchdowns. Last year, Johnson added 37 rushing scores to his ledger and nearly 2,000 rushing yards. As a senior, he posted another 1,262 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns.
The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the high school football schedule last year, but Johnson was still able to put up productive numbers, rushing for 1,262 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground.
RB LJ Johnson Recruiting
This week's Next Level with @HoustonChronHS takes a look at @BFND_Football Running Back, @LJ_Johnson_Jr pic.twitter.com/bABq7sTBSN
— Houston Inside High School Sports (@ihss_houston) October 26, 2020
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LJ Johnson was sought after by numerous other schools on the recruiting trail, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, and USC.
After narrowing his choices down to the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and Texas Longhorns, Johnson chose to stay in the state of Texas and become an Aggie.
The Longhorns were aggressive in their pursuit of the halfback; as we know, football recruiting is all about relationship building, and former Texas head coach Tom Herman and running backs coach Stan Drayton did their best to court Johnson.
Running Back LJ Johnson Highlights
LJ Johnson is 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds in high school, suggesting that he will likely grow even more by the time he gets through his NCAA career. He is big-bodied but still able to show trademark quickness, whether he is rushing between the tackles or to the outside. Johnson sheds tackles with ease and has the skills to juke out defenders.
Looking at the stats, one thing that pops out is his lack of receptions; to date, he only has 11 in his career. This may work in high school, but today's NFL requires the ability to catch passes from the backfield. He will more than likely have to adapt and start to get more targets from his quarterback.
Johnson is listed as the fifth-best running back in the nation and the ninth-best prospect in all of Texas football, which are high grades for a state known for being a hotbed of talent.
If he can continually score touchdowns with ease in College Station, the NFL Draft will be waiting for him.
LJ Johnson Enrolls at Texas A&M
COMMITTED! GIG'EM! #blessed pic.twitter.com/W5MsUbnUoB
— LJ Johnson Jr (@LJ_Johnson_Jr) February 3, 2021
The No. 5 running back in the 2021 class is officially committed to Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M Aggies and signed his letter of intent on National Signing Day. He announced the news on his Twitter account with the caption, "COMMITTED! GIG'EM! #blessed."
Johnson let the drama wait until NSD, and ultimately the Aggies came out on top. The nation's No. 5 running back and the Lone Star State's No. 2 running back boosted TAMU's 2021 class to No. 8 in the nation, which includes five-star defensive lineman Shemar Turner.
As Burnt Orange Nation reported, Johnson is the highest-rated running back signee for Texas A&M since 2012.
Johnson and fellow TAMU freshman Amari Daniels will bring electricity to the Aggie backfield, helping them be in contention for the College Football Playoff for years to come.
