LSU, OU, AM, others offer OL

Junior to Watch: Herman Johnson

School: Denton, Texas

Position: Offensive tackle

Size and speed: Johnson is 6-foot-7, 320 pounds and has been timed at 5.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He said he has a 335-pound bench-press and a 500-pound squat.

Honors: Johnson was an all-district pick as a junior.

Statistics: Johnson said he was unaware of his stats because he played mainly on the offensive line.

Favorite Schools: Johnson lists Oklahoma, LSU, Houston, Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas and Colorado as his top teams. He has scholarship offers from Oklahoma, LSU, Houston, Baylor and Texas A&M.

Skinny: There isn’t anything skinny about Herman Johnson of Denton, Texas. Simply put, he’s one of the biggest – all 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds of him – and best offensive tackle prospects in the state of Texas for the Class of 2004. So it’s no surprise to see that his offer list is also anything but skinny.

“LSU was the first to offer me back in February,” Johnson said. “But then right after that I got an offer from Oklahoma. Houston, Baylor and A&M have also offered.”

That’s an impressive list of schools for an impressive prospect. Johnson said he really prides himself on his pass blocking – something he knows will help him make the transition to college much easier.

“I’m a better pass blocker,” he said. “I love punching people, and you get to do that on pass plays. I’m good at it, and it is fun to go out there and pop the guy across from you and see how he reacts.

“We run a pretty diverse offense. We go from the no-back set to the I-formation from play to play. So I think all of this is really going to help me when I get to college because I can do a little bit of everything.”

Johnson knows that his teammates look up to him – literally and figuratively – which is one reason why he likes being a leader.

“I’m the kind of guy that likes to work with the younger players and help them out,” he said. “I will talk things out with them and tell them what they’re doing wrong or help them do something a little bit better. Every now and then I might explode, but I’m more into trying to help them first. But I will jump on their (butts) if I have to.”

When it comes to recruiting, Johnson has already thought about certain things that will be important to him.

“I want to look at a schools graduation rate first,” he said. “I want to look and see what kids leave the school with a degree. Football wise, I want to look at the depth chart and see how quickly I could play there.”

And with offers already on the table, Johnson said he’s going to have plenty of chances to look hard at the schools on his list. At this point, he’s only been to one school on an unofficial visit. That school was Oklahoma.

“It was really nice,” Johnson said about his time at Oklahoma.

“I liked how the players and coaches were helping each other out. If a lineman messed something up, the coach would come up and talk to them about it. It was good to see that he just didn’t sit there and rip him a new one. Coach (Kevin) Wilson was great about teaching and coaching instead of yelling.”

But with the horde of calls that are set to begin on May 1 and schools already visiting his high school for the spring evaluation period, Johnson said he knows things are about to get crazy.

“I want to hear first from LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Colorado,” Johnson said about the May calls. “I know that this is just the start. It’s going to get interesting. My mom is getting a real kick out of this.”