Coaching Changes at Oklahoma Haven't Deterred Jacobe Johnson
Nothing has slowed the Jacobe Johnson football-basketball train. Not even coaching changes in both sports at Oklahoma.
“It’s honestly been better,” Johnson said, “because I like the coaching staffs in both.”
Johnson, who remains uncommitted as he finishes up his junior year at Mustang, OK, tells SI Sooners that OU is definitely in the lead for his prodigious services, but once basketball season wraps up and the summer approaches, he’ll begin in earnest the process of visiting schools like Stanford and Michigan and USC.
Jacobe Johnson
Ryan Chapman / SI Sooners
National Signing Day is Wednesday, and it’s anticipated OU will sign a handful of prospects in the 2022 class. But college football coaches are always working ahead.
Johnson, a member of the 2023 class, attended OU’s Elite Junior Day event last weekend and said he enjoyed himself. And why not? Johnson has the kind of versatility that he could do just about anything he wants on a college campus: Defensive back? Sure — as a cornerback or safety? Football? Will he play offense or defense — or both? Athletics? His plan is the unique football-basketball double dip.
“That is my goal,” he said.
Both 247 Sports and Rivals have Johnson rated as a 4-star prospect. 247 Sports ranks him as the No. 118 overall prospect in the 2023 class, the No. 11 athlete and the No. 2 prospect in the state of Oklahoma. Rivals ranks him No. 244 overall, No. 13 among cornerbacks and No. 3 in the Sooner State.
He currently holds offers from OU, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Baylor, Iowa State, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Wisconsin.
Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch began recruiting Johnson when he was just a freshman, and Brent Venables and Ted Roof haven’t let up. Lon Kruger used to visit with Johnson frequently, and Porter Moser has kept that going.
When it comes to Jacobe Johnson, OU hasn’t missed a beat despite changes at the top — in both sports.
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“I’ve been to the games and stuff for basketball and watched to see coach Moser, how he kind of coaches. And it’s really good,” Johnson said. “I really like it. Plus, I’ve met with him a couple times and he’s a cool dude.
“And then on the football side of things, I like every single of the coaches over there. Every single one of ‘em.”
Johnson said what he likes most about the football staff is how genuine they all seem.
“They’re all — all the things they say to me and stuff, they talk about not only football but just life in general,” Johnson said. “They don’t — NIL and stuff like that, that’s not their main focus. That just comes with the hard work and the development you have once you get to college.”
So far, Johnson said, he hasn’t spoken to any coaches anywhere who were against the idea of him playing both sports.
“Everybody’s really telling me that they’re willing to work with me doing both,” he said. “Everybody that I’ve talked to.”
Johnson acknowledged it’ll be tricky to juggle the responsibilities of both sports, especially during the October-November overlap. He’ll obviously be football all the way until football season is over — but he can’t just ignore basketball completely and then show up cold in January.
“That’s gonna be the hard work of it right there, time management and stuff like that,” Johnson said. “Being able to get my work done, and then if I have a little bit of off time, I can go to the gym a little bit and shoot so I’m not so rusty when football season’s over.
“That’s just kind of how I’ve been doing it my whole life growing up. That’s how I’ll probably do it in college if I’m able to.”
As far as football, Johnson said he’d like to continue to play both wide receiver and defensive back. At a long 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, his forte is out-jumping defensive backs and high-pointing the football. But he doesn’t shy away from contact on defense.
“I’m still open,” he said. “I kind of want to play a little bit of both. But I feel like my main position will end up being defensive back, whether that be safety or corner.”
Johnson’s most recent offers came from Miami last week, followed by USC.
“I just got offered from SC,” Johnson said. “I just haven’t posted that. Because coach Grinch offered me and told me that I’ll probably get a lot of heat and stuff on Twitter. So he’s just looking out, to make sure my phone doesn’t blow up and go crazy. But yeah, SC’s my most recent offer.”
When the time comes — and it’s coming fast — Johnson will arrange an official visit to Stanford, and while he’s in California, he’ll head down the coast and check in with Grinch and Riley.
As of now, he also wants to visit Tennessee, and possibly Michigan, Nebraska and Baylor, plus “a handful of others.”
Then he’ll narrow it down, make a decision and shut down his recruiting before signing in December.
“Our plan is to go ahead and commit by the month right before school starts,” Johnson said. “That’s the plan, to go ahead and get that (done) and then go ahead and enjoy my senior year.”
