ULM commit Keyshawn Johnson could be looking local at UNT

DESOTO, Tex. -- Duncanville linebacker Keyshawn Johnson has been committed to ULM since early August, but that hasn’t kept other programs from working hard to try and lure him away before the end of the season.

Johnson said that North Texas has stepped forward as perhaps the top suitor to work Johnson off of that commitment, but he said that he’s still got some research to do before the Mean Green can possibly make that happen.

“I really have to take a better look at what they have academically for my major and all that,” he said. “It’s deeper than just football.”

Duncanville continues to roll this season, and Johnson said that should his team keep up its winning ways, he’ll likely try to schedule an official to Monroe, Louisiana, sometime in December. For now, he’s still thinking about the things that have attracted him to the Warhawks in the first place.

“Real nice academic program and they like to compete,” he said. “That’s all I want to do.”

This season, UNT has taken another step forward in Conference USA, matching last season’s win total already with four games left to play on the schedule. While ULM seems on pace to be better as well, Johnson has had an easy time keeping tabs on the more local North Texas defensive unit.

“I see that they have some nice linebackers out there this season,” he said. “[E.J. Ejiya] - he’s like 6-3… he’s been pretty nice out there for them this season.”

Johnson said that other programs like Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State and several of the service academies have also continued to recruit him, but hasn’t considered taking officials to those schools. In the meantime, ULM hasn’t forgotten to work to keep him in its 2018 class.

“They have just been reminding me that when I get there, they have a spot for me,” he said. “They’re giving me Number 7 and everything.”

Johnson stepped forward as a motivational leader on the field in Duncanville’s win against DeSoto on Friday, and had key moment in the second half with a fumble recovery deep in Eagles territory. UNT’s success this season and the fact that it’s a more local option is going to be something that could make things tough on ULM, but it sounds as though the Mean Green will have to step up its efforts to show Johnson that he’s one of their top targets.