Column: Is Tre'Vez Johnson Florida's Next Ethan White?
"He was our lowest ranked recruit, and he played the most," Dan Mullen said mid-thought during his National Signing Day press conference.
That description fits Florida offensive guard Ethan White. The prospect was rated the No. 63 rated tackle, which he played in high school, in the 2019 signing class.
During the season?
He became the sixth-man of the offensive line once Christopher Bleich transferred out of the program. Now? He will probably start up front for Florida in 2020.
That type of success from a lower-level recruit is rare. Not often does a guy in the class nobody is talking about become a guy in the class that everyone is talking about. It is safe to assume this is about a once-per-class type of story.
So it begs the question, who is this season's Ethan White?
Who is that guy that nobody is paying much attention to right now, but will demand it later? Who is that guy that may not have turned heads of every scout at camps across the country, but when the pads come on is just different?
"As far as the guys maybe that don't get all the attention, Tre'Vez Johnson's a guy I've said right from the beginning that some people might sleep on," Mullen said.
And what makes Mullen think that?
Johnson is not spectacularly large, at just 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. And one of his biggest strengths, his physicality, can't be shown off at camps.
However, look at literally everything else.
The Bartram Trail safety prospect, who projects as a STAR nickel cornerback/safety hybrid in Florida's scheme. was St. John's County's defensive player of the year. He runs a 4.5 40-yard dash. As much as Mullen loves special teams, Johnson was a more-than-willing special teams player despite being Bartram Trail's best defender.
"Generally speaking, if you see a guy most of the time that we recruited, that might not have all the stars or accolades, those are probably the guys that I would say 'We saw something in them,'" Mullen said. "That's what brought them here."
And undoubtedly Mullen saw a 4.5 and special teams effort out of Johnson. Undoubtedly he saw his three-turnover game against Nease. But more than likely, what did Mullen and his staff see above anything else?
Fearlessness.
Johnson is scared of absolutely nothing. He is a guy that will shine most when the pads come on. You don't hear footsteps from this guy, you hear thuds.
And this is why he is this season's Ethan White. Once White dropped weight, he was more than capable of giving Florida valuable time, and he put in all of the necessary work.
Johnson will have to clean some things up technically. Sometimes he relies too much on his speed to save him.
But that is an extremely coach-able flaw. Johnson can absolutely become a name in that safety room that can't be ignored. His desire for physicality in a room full of finesse guys can be a refreshing change of pace as well, much like White's physicality and size was a nice change considering Florida's run-blocking woes last season.
This staff clearly is not afraid to sometimes step outside the rankings box when evaluating talent. They often simply don't care what the recruiting sites have to say and they will pursue, or not pursue a guy based on their own thoughts of him. And in a way, that is everything that Dan Mullen is about as a coach.
He is about getting guys that fit very specifically to what he is trying to do. A website cannot tell you that much. A website will not tell you that Ethan White is going to drop nearly 60 pounds when he joins the strength program and become a reliable player by the end of the season.
Is it extremely possible that Johnson will get to work in Gainesville and quickly become something nobody saw coming. He has the type of tape that says he could very well blossom into somebody opposing offenses will be terrified of.
"I think when you see some guys, and you evaluate, we trust our evaluation process," Mullen said.
