Desoto's Myson Johnson Cook Is Running To Greatness

Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas are among those who have offered this talented rising junior

DeSoto's Myson Cook Johnson lunges for extra yardage during a 2024 game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. / Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the size of Earl Campbell, the running style of Erick Dickerson and the speed of Adrian Peterson, Desoto rising junior running back Myson Johnson-Cook is poised to become the next running back legend to come out of the Lone Star State.

After a sophomore campaign where he wasn’t even the featured back, Johnson-Cook ran for 911 yards and 14 touchdowns on just 88 carries. Since the beginning of the calendar year, he has raked in over 40 offers this offseason including big one’s from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas. As a result, the talented 5-star do everything back is poised to show the country why some consider him the best overall player of the 2027 recruiting class this fall.

“It feels great to be one of the top recruits in the nation as it just shows me all my hard work is paying off and there’s still a lot more for me to do,” Johnson-Cook said. “Currently my top five consist of Tennessee, Oregon, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Georgia. But, for me to sign it’s going to come down to relationships on an off the field, seeing how coaches treat their current and former players and last but not least seeing how well I fit into their offensive scheme.”

After splitting carries with Texas A&M signee Deondrae Riden Jr. who set the Desoto school record with over 4,000 rushing yards in his career, Johnson-Cook is being tabbed by many to go over 2,000 yards this season. If this offseason is any indicator, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound star running back is more than capable of joining the 2,000-yard rush club if healthy.

Johnson-Cook put many people on notice in the track and football world’s by running a 10.30 100-meter dash last month at the Texas UIL Region II track meet, to give a great example of just how special of an athlete he really is. The rising junior put an exclamation point on track season last week by running a personal record of 10.15 seconds on the campus of the University of Texas as the anchor leg of Desoto’s 4x100-meter relay which finished second in the state.

As a result, despite his super-sized frame, the well-rounded talented Desoto star will enter his junior season faster than he was last season. This must be a scary thought for defenders and coaches across the state of Texas considering he averaged an eye popping 10.4 yards per carry last season.

“My mindset day-to-day is to learn and get better each and every day,” Johnson-Cook said while reflecting on sophomore season. “When it comes to straight football I like to have fun here and there, but I’m adapting a professional mindset where I do things like a pro because this is a business to me and I’m not here to play games. No matter if it’s in the classroom, on the field, off the field or even on social media everything is serious and business to me.”

No matter what happens this fall one thing is for certain, Myon Johnson-Cook is going to be a problem for all Desoto opponents and should enter the season as lead candidate for Texas Player of the Year.