Arizona athlete gets dream offer
Athlete prospect Blaise Johnson (5-11, 185, 4.45) from Tempe (Ariz.) Corona del Sol took his five allotted trips and earlier this evening he received the offer he has been waiting for all his life.
"It's been my dream to go Stanford," Johnson said. "Stanford has always been in my heart."
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"The reason I worked so hard to get good grades in high school and be good in sports is that I wanted to go to Stanford," Johnson said. "It was kind of awkward on my trip because Stanford didn't offer me and I didn't know where I stood."
"I even almost committed to BYU earlier this evening," Johnson said. "But then Stanford offered me this evening at 6:35 Arizona time and it took me two seconds to say yes."
At first it was thought that Stanford would recruit him as a defensive back, but now it seems he may be brought in as an athlete.
Though Johnson will probably get his first action as a defensive back, but wide receiver is not out of the question.
In an earlier interview with Rivals.com Corona del Sol coach Gary Venturo was filled with praise for his talented athlete.
"Blaise is just a great all-around athlete," Venturo said. "He's a legitimate 4.5 electronically."
"Blaise gives us good pass coverage, is a top wrestler, he can dunk a basketball, he's one of the strongest kids for his size since I've been around and he's a straight A student," Venturo said. "You can't ask for anything more than that."
The reason that Johnson is such a sleeper and colleges are getting a late start on him is he had a high ankle sprain as a junior that hampered throughout 2003.
Injury free in 2004, Johnson has come back with a vengeance. From his quarterback position, Johnson rushed for 890 yards and 14 touchdowns. He passed for 750 yards and threw for 10 more touchdowns.
Johnson even caught six passes for 155 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He also accounted for over 400 return yards and another touchdown.
What is even more impressive is Johnson only played in the first half in the majority of his games. The first time he played a full game was when the playoffs rolled around.
Johnson led Corona del Sol to their best record and playoff appearance in 18 years.
For his senior season performance, Johnson selected first-team all-state as a defensive back and he earned Conference Player of the Year honors. He was also selected first-team all-conference as both a quarterback and defensive back for his senior season.
Besides Stanford, Johnson has received offers from the Air Force Academy, BYU, UNLV, Nevada and Northeastern.
Johnson carries a perfect 4.0 GPA and scored an 1160 on the SAT.