WR Kelshaun Johnson facing a tough decision after impressive UT OV
Kelshaun Johnson is a player that’s always had the Texas Longhorns high on his list, and he’s been a consistent visitor to the UT campus during his recruitment. Over the weekend, Johnson was in Austin again, this time for an official visit, and the speedster from Hitchcock said he enjoyed the overall experience.
“Really just talking with the players, seeing how they’ve been developed, how they separate themselves to play. They really just told me everybody is good, just keep grinding and you’re going to get a chance,” Johnson said of what stood out from the visit.
The 5-11, 160-pound Johnson was hosted on his visit by Johntay Cook. He spent a lot of his time hanging out with fellow receivers Dakorian Moore, Andrew Marsh and Daylon McCutcheon. The message from Cook to Johnson was that it’s been a positive experience in his time on the Forty Acres.
“I talked to him a couple times that I’ve been up there. He really loves it up there,” Johnson said. “I was really asking him how he’s been managing everything, with the workouts, school. He said it’s been good.”
Of course, during the visit Johnson also got a lot of time with the Texas coaches, including wide receivers coach Chris Jackson and head coach Steve Sarkisian.
“Coach Jackson was really just showing me how he’d use me, how he’d develop me. He was telling me how it’s a good place, how he can help me reach my goals,” Johnson said. “Coach Sark, he was just telling me how good the program is, how much he could use me. He wasn’t really comparing, said he doesn’t like comparing players to other people, but said I’m similar to Xavier Worthy and DeVonta Smith when he had them.”
Prior to Texas, Johnson took official visits to Arkansas and Texas A&M. He’s tentatively scheduled to visit USC next weekend but said he’s trying to decide if he’ll take that visit. A decision is expected sometime this summer.
“I was going to try to make a decision next month, but I don’t know if I’m doing it in two months or next month,” Johnson said.
Johnson continues to evaluate programs like Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Arkansas. When he makes a final decision, he wants to make sure it’s the right choice.
“I’m just trying to figure out where I’m going to be at the next three to four years. I want to pick the right place for me so I don’t have to enter the transfer portal, grind it out, learn the playbook, just develop,” Johnson said.
The Longhorns have been a strong contender for Johnson ever since offering in June of last year. Johnson said there are a number of reasons Texas has remained in contention for his commitment.
“Just the way how they develop every year, how they run their offense, how they used Xavier Worthy,” Johnson said. “Just how they have an NFL offense. Most of (their players) are probably already really good where they’re at because it’s similar to offenses they run in the NFL.”
A four-star prospect, Johnson ranks No. 183 on the Rivals250.