Top Florida WR speaks

Record-setting wide receiver Aldarius Johnson, part of a loaded crop of rising seniors at Miami's Northwestern High, is one of the top overall prospects at his position nationally in the Class of 2008.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder, who has been hand-timed as fast as 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 3.9 seconds in the pro shuttle, claims early written scholarship offers from three schools, Miami (Fla.), Florida and North Carolina.

"I have no leader right now," Johnson said. "With Florida, it's a good program and I like how they run their offense. With UM, it's the same thing. I like their system and their facilities. I don't know much about North Carolina, I just saw the offer."

Florida State, Alabama and a host of other schools are interested in Johnson and written offers could be forthcoming from those programs, as well as others.

Johnson will be taking multiple aspects of a program into account before he makes his final decision.

"I will be looking at everything, including playing time," Johnson said. "I haven't really thought about a time frame."

Johnson caught 70 passes for 1,312 yards and 19 touchdowns during the 2006 season, leading Northwestern to a perfect 16-0 record and the Florida Class 6A championship. He set Miami-Dade County records for receptions and receiving yardage in a season. He hopes to pass those marks in 2007 and has set several academic goals for himself.

"In school, I want to get my G.P.A. up," he said. "And I also want to do well on the test (S.A.T./A.C.T.). In football, I want to beat my records."

Johnson compares himself to the likely top receiver taken in this year's NFL draft.

"I compare myself to a college player, Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech," he said. "We are the same person."

Aldarius Johnson is a Rivals100 to watch member for the Class of 2008. He is part of one of the top groups of prospects at any high school in the country as defensive tackle Marcus Forston, linebacker Sean Spence, wide receiver Tommy Streeter, defensive lineman Benjamin Jones and quarterback Jacory Harris, among others, all are potential BCS conference-level recruits from Northwestern.