Penn State Football: Jan Johnson highest riser of starters
On a Penn State football defense loaded with four and five-star athletes, Jan Johnson carries the torch for underrated recruits that succeed at next level.
Of the returning defensive starters for Penn State football, four are four-star recruits, one is a five-star, one is a three-star and one is a no-star, in-state walk-on that’s now the epitome of “Linebacker U”, in Governor Mifflin High School grad Jan Johnson.
The fifth-year senior didn’t join the Nittany Lions as a highly rated, sought-after recruit, but he’s become a key cog on this defense. Johnson took the middle linebacker starting job last year and started all 13 games. The veteran linebacker produced at a high level going stride-for-stride with Micah Parsons for much of the season in terms of the team-leader in tackles.
Johnson ultimately finished with 72 stops, the second most on the team. He recorded five or more tackles in nine of the team’s games. His year was highlighted by double-digit tackle performances against Appalachian State and Michigan.
A successful campaign that saw him earn a starting job also netted him a scholarship as well. I don’t think fans understand just how impressive that is. Penn State always brings in top-tier talent every single year, and Johnson still proved himself to be worthy of a scholarship.
His overachieving toughness brings an added edge to the defense. That’s not to say that the other Penn State football linebackers don’t have that same trait, but there’s a level of fight that players who have to take the unconventional, long route to college football stardom boast.
It’s what makes him the perfect, veteran player to lead the linebacker corp in terms of his experience. He’s the only fifth-year in the linebacking corp alongside four-year senior Cam Brown and true sophomore Parsons.
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There are few LB corps that can claim they have all their starters back from the previous year. Penn State can and two of the three have snaps beyond 2018. Johnson came into the game in a pinch and recorded 12 tackles in six games, while helping Penn State to an 11-2 season. Johnson turned that glimpse into a full season of results in 2018. He’s set for another great year in 2019.