Have position will play it

Marlon Johnson (6-0, 185, 4.5) from Inglewood, Calif., epitomizes the "athlete" prospect. In his first three games, Johnson has started at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, cornerback, free safety, strong safety and returns both punts and kicks. He probably also leads the band at halftime.

"Just weeks before our season opener, we informed Marlon that he would have to start quarterback for us," Inglewood assistant coach Khalid Ali said. "Without complaining Marlon switched from his wide receiver position and managed to throw for 245 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 76 yards. He also made eight tackles on defense.

"The next week, we needed him to start at tailback for us and he responded by rushing 8 times for 68 yards and one touchdown. Overall, Johnson had 195 all purpose yards.

"In our third game, Marlon moved back to wide receiver where he caught 3 passes for 116 yards. His longest reception was a 77 yarder for a touchdown. He made a team high nine tackles from the strong safety position.

"As I have said before, Marlon is our Most Versatile Player," Ali said. "He will do whatever it takes to help the team and he is a great team leader.

"Whenever Coach Mincy (Inglewood head coach Charles Mincy) marvels at Marlon's talents, he says, 'that kid is a major college football player.' I think the two major contributors to Marlon's ability to adjust well to playing multiple positions is the fact that he is a great athlete and he has a clear understanding of his teammate's assignments on both offense and defense.

"Coach Mincy has an exercise where he challenges a player to come to the board and draw up an offensive or defensive play," Ali said. "This exercise requires the kid to include the assignments of all 11 players.

"If the kid does not draw the play up correctly, the whole team has to do 50 up down Lombardi's. Marlon has saved his teammates from doing a lot of up downs during his time at Inglewood."

Because of Johnson's fast start Colorado, Nevada and USC wants to see some senior tape on him.

Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State and Montana have also expressed some recruiting interest in Johnson.