We seem to be in a pattern with the numbers lately. Chris Quinn's feature yesterday was on a player that is in the mix to start in the new secondary. A few days ago we had Max Charlot, Albert Evans, and Normando Harris. Today we have another player with at least a little bit of experience. Between Josh Johnson, Charlton Williams, Evans, and Quinn we have guys with experience, just not a lot of it. Maybe this JJ will be as good as our other JJ in JaJuan Johnson, or our last good #28 in Dustin Keller.
Josh Johnson - So.
Hometown: Dade City, FL (Pasco HS)
Cornerback
5'11", 191 pounds
2010 Projection: possible starter at cornerback
Josh Johnson is part of Danny Hope's first Florida speed class that is expected to start contributing this year. Dade City is not too far from Zephyrhills, where my grandparents used to spend their winters. I haven't been to that area of Florida in 20 years, but it is the same Tampa area that has produced some pretty good talent in the past few seasons.
It is a bit of a surprise that Josh Johnson has ended up playing football. Plus, if it doesn't work out he might be able to step over to baseball and provide Doug Schreiber's team a boost when they move into the new Lambert Field. Jay Jay, as he is called, was one of the top 100 juniors in the nation back in high school after leading the Tampa area in home runs. He would be following in the footsteps of the Marlins' current ace if he played baseball. It was a bit of a surprise when he chose football, too. He was a second team all-state selection as a senior.
Football is his first love though. He had a solid senior season at Pasco high, catching 32 passes for 466 yards and nine touchdowns and rushing for 204 yards on 39 carries with Pasco reaching the state semifinals. At Purdue he has made the full-time shift to defense. He played in 11 games as a reserve and on special teams last year, giving him an edge on winning a starting job in 2010. He only had two tackles, but those 11 games are 11 more games than a lot of the competition has played.
I leave you today with some highlights from his high school career, as he wore #9 for the Pasco Pirates. I really like this kid to contribute this season.
Josh Johnson is #9 in this video for Pasco.
Boilermakings Notes:
Opening camp: Purdue - Big Ten Blog - ESPN
Schedule: Purdue will hit the field for its first practice at 4:25 p.m. ET Saturday.
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