SI All-American Candidate Tysheem Johnson Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: DB Tysheem Johnson
Projected Position: Safety
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-10, 185 pounds
School: Philadelphia (Pa.) Neumann-Goretti
Committed to: Ole Miss
Frame: Average length, yet excellent chisel and definition. Clearly defined upper-body and abdomen with tight waist. Straight lower-base with fair bubble for size.
Athleticism: Plays multiple positions with good foot quickness and lower-half coordination. Balanced in his pedal and his solid hip fluidity to flip and transition. Change of direction appears more natural and fluid after he’s been on the move. Drives on underneath routes with good angles to ball and man.
Instincts: Works with good ball skills on back end with good eyes, feel, anticipation, judgment and assertion in air traffic. Disrupts catch points with physicality more than length. Is reliable to walk into box pre-snap and play as a force-player from the wing/flanks. Also will play the run from depth and meet ball-carriers on second level.
Polish: Contributes as a safety, boundary corner, receiver, running back and return specialist. Safety position features him on the boundary hash and in the post, with cover-1 and cover-4 concepts. Limited size and length. Needs to add mass and strength to tackle college ball-carriers solo. Must improve man coverage skills.
Bottom Line: While he possesses average size, Johnson is a reliable safety prospect whose best attribute is his ball skills. He isn’t afraid to contribute to combatting the run, but his value comes from what he does when the ball is in flight. Johnson projects best as post or split safety in a college secondary that features quarters coverage concepts.