2016 ATH lands first Big Ten offers

The recruitment of Minneapolis (Minn.) North athlete Tyler Johnson has taken off now that his junior season is complete. The 2016 prospect landed two Big Ten offers this week.

"Monday he was offered by Iowa and then (Thursday) the U. (of Minnesota) offered him," Minneapolis North head coach Charles Adams reported. "I think a couple other schools are going to start jumping in line as well."

Johnson made an unofficial visit to Minnesota on Thursday, where he received word of the offer from head coach Jerry Kill.

"He hasn't been too forthcoming about what his plans are going to be - I just know he wants to play college football - but I can say that it's always an advantage when it's the hometown team," Adams said.

Although Iowa is not the hometown team, they learned of Johnson's talents early in his junior season.

"It was just word of mouth and relationships," Adams said. "(Iowa defensive back) Malik Rucker and (his father) Charles Rucker are supporters of North High and City kids. The coaches contacted me to come take a look for themselves, and after a few plays in the first half they were pretty much convinced this was a kid they needed to try to get over there."

The 6-foot-2, 179-pound Johnson threw for 1,702 yards and 26 touchdowns and rushed for 1,340 and 14 touchdowns on offense while adding 20 tackles and nine interceptions on defense as a junior. He is listed as an athlete and has the ability to project at several positions at the college level.

"He is our starting quarterback and then he also plays on the defensive side at safety," Adams said. "We run a spread offense and he is an option quarterback. Out of the option he was a dual-threat.

"I think with his ability he would be more of an advantage on the offensive side of the ball, butut he did do well defensively. He has a natural ability to get into the end zone, so it would be beneficial for him to play on the offensive side of the ball. In practice or 7-on-7 leagues we dabbled with him at wide receiver, and that would make more sense for him at the college level."

Which school he will ultimately choose to continue his football career at is far from decided, however, and Johnson continues to stay in the present according to his coach.

"He is a pretty humble kid so he's not really showing it, but I know he is pretty excited," Adams said. "I know he wants to play at the next level, but he's not necessarily letting it get to his head. He's still focused in because he still has a basketball season he has to play as well."