The Jacobe Johnson Chronicles: First Basketball Offers Roll In for Two-Way 2023 Recruit
On April 30, Mustang High freshman Jacobe Johnson became the youngest in-state skill position player ever to receive a football offer from OU. Throughout his recruitment, SI Sooners will have regular interviews with Johnson and consistent updates as the process plays out.
The waiting game is over for Jacobe Johnson.
The two-sport Mustang phenom, already a highly coveted football recruit, had long been awaiting his first Division I basketball offers - but to no avail. That all changed in a span of 48 hours this past week, as Oklahoma State, TCU, and Oklahoma extended basketball scholarships to the 2023 standout.
“I was at the house, and OSU and TCU had called my dad,” Johnson said. “When my dad got home, he called them. We got on the phone, started talking, and they said to come visit and that they were going to offer me.”
The calls from the Horned Frogs and Cowboys came on Monday. Two days later, Carlin Hartman dialed up Johnson and offered him a scholarship to Oklahoma.
Johnson’s father, Malcolm, played at TCU in the late 1990’s. But Jacobe grew up cheering on the Sooners from the tiny Oklahoma town of Rush Springs. So the offer from Lon Kruger’s program meant a little bit more to the 6-foot-3 shooting guard.
“I didn’t know what to say,” said Johnson. “It’s crazy how I’m getting all these offers so young. I’ve got three more years of high school left. And OU’s been my favorite school since I was little. It’s a crazy deal.”
Johnson has already made quite a name for himself on the Oklahoma prep scene, as he’s the consensus top 2023 prospect in the state for both basketball and football. But he’s got his eyes set on the long haul. Though only a select few athletes have carved out a professional career in multiple sports, Johnson’s aiming to join the likes of Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson in that elite company.
“I feel like it’s very doable,” Johnson asserted. “All my coaches say so. It’s gonna take hard work, but it’s very doable. I can’t just put one sport down, because I love both sports the same. I love basketball and football the exact same; I don’t love one more than the other. If I ever have to put one down, it’s gonna be hard. My plan is to play two sports at the college level, and then make my decision from there.”
The resurgence of the COVID-19 virus has thrown Johnson’s summer basketball schedule into limbo, but he and his Mustang teammates have resumed football activity. He’s excited for the upcoming season, as the Broncos will roll out a strong unit that also includes 2022 four-star tight end Andre Dollar.
“I’m working out with my team again, and we’ve been working hard,” Johnson said. “We work out Monday through Friday; we lift in the mornings for an hour and a half and then we go outside to do football stuff.”
Johnson also received one new football offer this month, as Texas Tech extended a scholarship to him on June 14. In total, he’s now accumulated eight FBS offers, as well as the three basketball offers. Though he’s certain to draw much more interest from many more programs in the weeks and months to come, Johnson relishes these early stages of his recruitment.
“It means a lot,” Johnson acknowledged. “It shows me how much my hard work that I’ve put in is starting to pay off. I’m really learning so much about how all this recruiting stuff works, and I’m trying to keep learning. And hopefully I’ll be able to play both sports in college.”
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