Evaluation: Nasir Johnson Will Be An Issue For Georgia
The 2024 recruiting class grows even larger as georgia continues to beef up the defensive side of the ball. Today it was announced that former Florida commit, Nasir Johnson, flipped his commitment to the University of Georgia. Dawgs Daily is here to provide our evaluation of the massive defensive tackle who is going to be an issue for years to come.
Frame: Johnson provides a massive frame coming in for the Bulldogs. Standing at 6' 5" and weighing about 315 pounds, Johnson is huge compared to some opponents he faced while playing for Dublin. It is hard to miss him when he is on the field as he towers over the offensive lineman just looking to contain him. He will provide a solid frame for Trey Scott and Glann Schumann to use on the defensive line when he arrives on campus. With his big frame though comes the one knock consistently seen in plays, his pad level. Johnson stands tall when he is on the field, which isn't that big of an issue now against smaller offensive lineman in high school, but will be a problem when facing SEC offensive lineman who know how to use their pad level and leverage to their advantage.
Athleticism: He is easily one of the freakier athletes that is coming off the defensive line for the 2024 class. You can see the bend in his hips when he is on the offensive line and playing in a 4-technique at defensive end. With a majority of his reps being taken at defensive tackle, Johnson excels in his athleticism in the 2/2i-technique. Containing the outside run in multiple clips as a defensive tackle johnson gives us just a glimpse of what he can offer with his speed, but two plays from his regular season highlights in 2023 exemplify the speed the 315-pounder has. The first play starts at minute 1:15, when Johnson picks up a strip sack and shows great bend past the double team that was put on him to get a strip sack. The next play starts at minute 4:50, when he is in at offensive guard, and pulls to lead block on an outside zone run, and keeps pace with his running back to clear the outside linebacker who beat their tight end trying to seal the edge. Johnson is athletic, period.
Instinct: Johnson wants to make it known that he is a physical run-stopper. His regular season highlight tape is seven minutes long with violent block shedding and getting to the ball to stop the run behind the line of scrimmage. He wants to live in the backfield of opposing offenses, which isn't an issue sometimes but has gotten him in trouble. Such as the play at minute 4:37, he blows up the offensive gaurd driving him back three or four yards, before seeing the QB take off with the ball for a four-five yard gain. He racks up plenty of tackles for loss, but againt powerful rushing quarterbacks that reside in SEC offenses like Ole Miss , Tennessee, and this season Alabama, Johnson needs to keep in mind not to get too far up field.
Polish: Easily Johnson's best trait is his hands. They are violent, powerful, and quick once the ball is snapped. Every play on his highlight tape includes the opposing players shoulder pads being knocked back. Multiple plays that he gets double teamed on, he violent rips through the middle of the double team for a tackle for loss, or swims over one of them, filling the gap a running back cuts too and making a play. Johnson has a violent attitude when it comes to shedding blocks as well. When we go to minute 6:22 of his regular season highlights, we see Johnson going against a team in a wing-t formation in which he connects his paws with the shoulder pads of the offensive guard, drives into him and knocks the guard to his knees and the helmet off his head. The very next play he was lined up against the same guard, where this time the OG let Johnson run right past him to get a massive hit on his QB.
Bottom Line: There isn't much that an someone could say that Johnson could improve upon but there as mentioned earlier, his pad level could use some improving if he wants to be a high-edn NFL draft prospect. Looking at his tape now, I can see a future NFL player in the development. His size, violent hands, and athleticism are excelling for his age and going to work with Trey Scott on the defensive line will be a great to work on his pad level and some question marks qurrounding his lateral movement. Nonetheless, he is a great addition for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Watch Nasir Johnson's Regular Season Highlights:
The 2024 class grows to 28 commits now after johnson joins a high-caliber recruiting class. He will join joseph Jonah-Ajonye, Jordan Thomas, Justin Greene, Quintavious Johnson, and Nnamdi Ogboko on the defensive line for this class. This week, Johnson's future teammates will be traveling to Knoxville, TN for what is looking to be another rainy game for the Dawgs and Vols.
Other Georgia News:
- Georgia Clinches the SEC East for Third Straight Season
- WATCH: Kendall Milton Talks to Media After Impressive Performance Against Ole Miss
- What You Need to Know About the Ole Miss Offense
Join the Community:
Follow Brooks Austin on Twitter: @BrooksAustinBA
Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @DawgsDailyFN
