Take Two: Will four-star Quentin Johnston pick Texas?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
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THE STORYLINE
Quentin Johnston is one of the more intriguing prospects in the Rivals100 because unlike many others, the four-star receiver from Temple, Texas, really does not talk much about his recruitment or elaborate on his favorites.
Texas is believed to be the front-runner for the fifth-best recruit in the state and the No. 61 player overall because he lives close to the campus, he has some teammates already there and the Longhorns’ need for outside receivers could be appealing.
But many other programs are pursuing Johnston because he has that rare combination of size and speed and although many other receivers are discussed far more often, it could be Johnston who emerges as one of the best in the class.
Oklahoma is making a run at the Temple standout and the Sooners have had no problems recruiting elite receivers recently. Baylor, TCU and others remain solidly in the mix.
When it’s all said and done, will Johnston pick Texas or will the four-star receiver make a surprise move and end up elsewhere?
FIRST TAKE: SAM SPIEGELMAN, TEXAS & LOUISIANA ANALYST
“Johnson is an interesting kid, especially because he’s a Rivals100 talent but you’d never be able to tell that from looking at his Twitter or speaking to him in person. His tape is impressive, but watching him up-close is a whole different ballgame. He’s long with track speed — and he hasn’t even tapped his potential yet. Johnston is 6-foot-5 and runs like a gazelle. He can stretch the field vertically and he’s so big that he’s a huge target to pluck the ball in mid-air and dominate balls in traffic. More impressive is his ability to turn short grabs and turn them into huge gains because he’s so physical after the catch.
“It’s safe to label Texas as the team to beat for Johnston. He lives only a few minutes outside of Austin in Temple, which is the alma mater of a pair of Longhorns in DL Ta’Quon Graham and TE Jared Wiley. He’s visited a ton over the past year and I could see him commit as early as today and if not, sometime before his senior campaign starts or not too far after. Oklahoma, Baylor and TCU are some of the other schools that are also recruiting Johnston hard, but he’s atop Texas’ board and there’s an unrivaled comfort level there.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“I think Tom Herman keeps Johnston. Momentum at Texas is as strong as it’s been in a long time and it’s going to be really difficult for teams to pull kids that they really want out of there. Let’s face it: Oklahoma got three five-star receivers last year, so they’re going to be up against it when it comes to questions about depth and all that other stuff. If you’re looking at those two offenses, Oklahoma is the more attractive one but I think he ends up at Texas.”