If any school wants to compete for conference championships, let alone national championships, it needs to have a strong defensive line. During Washington's run to three consecutive New Year's Six bowls, the Huskies had one of the best in the country anchored by Greg Gaines and Vita Vea.
Four-star defensive tackle Jericho Johnson from Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, could go a long way toward helping upgrade that defensive line. Currently, Johnson is ranked as the 109th overall prospect by 247 Sports and is the highest-rated recruit scheduled to visit Washington in June.
Johnson's film backs up his ranking. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle looks like a rare specimen. He plays with an impressive combination of power and speed while also keeping his eyes in the backfield, never losing sight of the ball carrier.
“You don’t see a lot of guys that size able to move as well as he does,” Armijo High defensive coordinator Billy Nicoe Hurst told On Montlake's Christian Caple. “We have guys here the same size as him, even bigger. But they’re just not as twitchy and different as he is. … He’ll go from the goofy, fun-loving kid around campus, always smiling. Then he flips that switch, and he’s the definition of controlled violence within a sport.”
It's not going to be easy for Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff to reel in the high-caliber lineman. He's received offers from all over the country. Johnson set up an official visit with Miami the weekend before he comes to Seattle and also holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon and USC, among others.
Yet if the Huskies can find a way to add him to their class, it will go a long way toward sustained success on the recruiting trail.
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