WR Johnson is the total package

Kannapolis (N.C.) Brown wide receiver Keeon Johnson is quickly emerging as a top wide receiver in the state of North Carolina. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder has numerous offers according to his coach.

"He's got a bunch of offers here as of late," Brown head coach Mike Newsome said. "He's got most of the in-state schools, NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and East Carolina all have offered.

"He's starting to pick up a lot of interest out-of-state."

Newsome believes Johnson brings a lot to the table.

"He's what colleges are looking for, a big physical type of wide receiver that fits the mold," he said. "He's great academically with a 3.75 GPA.

"I think he's the total package. He's got great size and is menacing at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds. He's going to end up 6-foot-4, 215-pounds. He's a Julio Jones-esque player. On top of that, he's a fast, big guy. He's very, very fast and has been timed in the 4.4's. He's got great ball skills and catches the ball extremely well. Jarrett Boykin played for me and Jarrett was the all-time leading wide receiver at Virginia Tech. Keeon is much better than Jarrett was as a senior in high school."

What does he need to improve upon?

"The biggest thing are his hands, he had some drops," he said. "He didn't have the opportunity to catch that many balls, so he's got to work on his hands just a little bit. Also, he needs to improve on the crispness of his route running."

Newsome has a second prospect to watch for 2013 in running back Kalif Phillips.

"Kalif scored 33 touchdowns this year and runs a 4.4 40," he said. "He's a very, very powerful running back and he's got good size. He hang cleans 300-pounds and is one of our strongest kids in the weight room.

"He is probably one of the hardest workers we've got around. He's a great, great football player that has great vision. He's got the ability to make people miss and the power to run over them."

Phillips posted 1,800-yards rushing, 300-yards receiving along with his 33 touchdowns this year.

"A lot of schools are looking at him now," Newsome said. "Before I got here he was a nickel safety, and I saw him and tried him at running back and he just had an unbelievable year. So now, he's just getting attention of colleges. A lot of them were extremely impressed."