Penn State football adds commitment from top 100 player
Penn State added one of the top tight ends in the country to its 2020 class Monday afternoon. Four-star tight end Theo Johnson committed to James Frankin and the Nittany Lions via his personal Instagram.
Johnson, who plays for Holy Names High School in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, chose Penn State over his other three finalists: the Georgia Bulldogs, the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan Wolverines. He’s a top 100 recruit in the country according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings.
The tight end is 6-foot-6 and weighs 242 pounds according to his 247Sports profile. He possesses high-level speed for a tight end, running a 4.63 40-yard dash at The Opening Finals in July of 2019. The Opening is an event that includes the top high school football recruits in the country competing in a camp setting. His time was the fastest among players over 220 pounds at the event, according to Charles Power’s scouting report on his 247Sports profile. Power also says Johnson “projects as a multiyear starter at the Power 5 level with the upside of developing into an early round NFL Draft pick.”
Johnson is set to play in the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 2.
The four-star recruit immediately becomes the second-highest rated player in the class, according to the rankings, and the highest-rated offensive player, sitting as the No. 83 player in the country, according to 247Sports. He sits behind only Curtis Jacobs, a four-star linebacker from Owings Mills, Maryland, among the rest of his Penn State classmates.
Johnson is one of 28 players in the 2020 Penn State class. The group moved up from No. 15 to No. 12 in the 2020 team rankings, according to 247Sports, after the addition of the tight end. It’s now the second-best class in the Big Ten, up from third-best. The Nittany Lions jumped Michigan but still sits behind Ohio State in the rankings.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:52 PM.
