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'07 MI CB Ronald Johnson (Southern Cal signee)

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I don't think losing out on guys like Johnson or Allen is too big of a deal. The only way it hurts us is that Michigan will probably end up with two great cornerbacks.

I'll take Torrence over Johnson and Evege over Allen anyway. They both have similar or possibly even better athleticism than they do, are big OSU fans, and play in much tougher competition. It'll be interesting to see if Devon works out at cornerback this summer at the camps and combines. That's usually where the cream rises to the top when they get matched up against the best wide receiver in the nation.
 
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cbus2005 said:
I don't think losing out on guys like Johnson or Allen is too big of a deal. The only way it hurts us is that Michigan will probably end up with two great cornerbacks.

I'll take Torrence over Johnson and Evege over Allen anyway. They both have similar or possibly even better athleticism than they do, are big OSU fans, and play in much tougher competition. It'll be interesting to see if Devon works out at cornerback this summer at the camps and combines. That's usually where the cream rises to the top when they get matched up against the best wide receiver in the nation.
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It's natural to say this but Johnson is the best CB in the country most likely and Allen is a possible 5 star or high 4 star guy. I agree we don't need them but I would take Johnson first, Torrence second, Allen third, and Evege fourth in terms of talent level. The good thing is that Evege and Torrence are both great players, Buckeye fans, and we don't have to worry about Allen and Johnson much.
 
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osugrad21 said:
That is a bold statement...and certainly open to debate.
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There are some other good ones that are up there but I think he is the best pure CB and I'm thinking Johnson will be the top CB on Rivals to start off. There was even some talk of him being the top player in the country for Rivals, though I highly doubt he will be ranked the top player overall.
 
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Johnson is going to start off in Rivals rankings as the #6 player in the entire country. The reason why they think so highly of him, is because one of the top dawgs of that company (Bobby Burton) saw Johnson up-close and personal at some 7-on-7's and he was very impressed to say the least. Burton said on the Texas Rivals Message Board, that Johnson was the best athlete that he's ever seen at any 7-on-7 and that he is an amazing player. I think that is really why Rivals thinks of him so highly. Well, that and every major school offering the kid early.

My prediction: Johnson starts off as the #6 player in the country in Rivals' initial rankings. If Johnson comes back from he injury strong, they keep him at #6 or even move him up. If he comes back slow and struggles, they gradually move him out of the Top 10 into the lower part of the 28, but still keep him as a 5* player. Rivals only gives out 28 5*'s, and once they make a kid a Top 10 player, he rarely gets downgraded to a 4* or moves out of the Top 28.
 
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crazybuckfan40 said:
Johnson is more of a hybrid type saftey lb. He isnt the true corner and if he has to play there, he would be out of position IMO.

Also you cant lose something you never had.
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You are mistaken there IMO. Johnson isn't nearly big enough at this stage to be a linebacker, even in college. Johnson is a legit 6-ft, but that 200 he's listed at is probably inaccurate, Johnson might be 185 pounds soaking wet. Johnson is more of a corner/free safety hybrid than linebacker. Some schools are recruiting him as a receiver though. I actually like him best at cornerback to be honest. At the Michigan summer camp Dionte Allen was the big name, so Johnson got thrown on alot more, and he punked every receiver he went up against. Nobody at the camp could even come close to getting him. I think he's more of a true corner, but some people seem to think he's more of a safety. When you run a 4.0 flat short shuttle and have the kind of strength and speed combo that Johnson has, it just screams corner to me. Have you watched his film? He's just a very impressive all-around player.
 
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Cwood24 said:
You are mistaken there IMO. Johnson isn't nearly big enough at this stage to be a linebacker, even in college. Johnson is a legit 6-ft, but that 200 he's listed at is probably inaccurate, Johnson might be 185 pounds soaking wet. Johnson is more of a corner/free safety hybrid than linebacker. Some schools are recruiting him as a receiver though. I actually like him best at cornerback to be honest. At the Michigan summer camp Dionte Allen was the big name, so Johnson got thrown on alot more, and he punked every receiver he went up against. Nobody at the camp could even come close to getting him. I think he's more of a true corner, but some people seem to think he's more of a safety. When you run a 4.0 flat short shuttle and have the kind of strength and speed combo that Johnson has, it just screams corner to me. Have you watched his film? He's just a very impressive all-around player.
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You are right I don't know why I have been thinking that he is a safety/Lb.

I still think he is a safety tho. His film, was impressive, but the you could tell the competition was lacking. He shows great speed, but I would wait until I saw him up against better competition to go calling him the best corner in the country. That is just my opinion. I think that he could be very good, but I think the jury is still out until he shows what he can do this year, especially with that torn ACL from last year.
 
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I agree that he's got a long way to go before everybody starts labeling him the #1 CB in the nation. He's going to have to prove that he's back from his injury. In the first 3 games of his junior season (prior to his ACL injury he suffered in practice) he was just having a phenomenal season. I heard reports of his first two games, so I went to check out his 3rd game of the season and he had like 4 touchdowns in the first 16-17 mins of the game. He had 1 punt return of 60+ yards, 1 kick-return of 80+ yards, and two receiving touchdowns (one of 50+ yards and the other of 21 yards). After that Coach Annese took him out of the game. Johnson rarely plays after the first half of his games as Muskegon tends to blow everybody they play out. Johnson just has a flair for the dramatic and a knack for making big plays. His speed on the field is really something to watch to, he's got great "football" speed or what Deion Sanders refers to as "next man" speed.

I really do think that had he not injured his ACL though that he would've challenged for the #1 spot and that he would've had even more offers than he does right now. He's a very physical, very explosive football player. I honestly think he's the best football prospect to come out of Michigan since maybe Charles Rogers or Gabe Watson. In terms of talent and potential, I think he's higher up there than LaMarr Woodley, Kevin Grady, and Brandon Graham were. I think you've got to go all the way back to '02 to find a player with as much raw ability and natural football skill as Johnson.
 
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I'm not denying the fact that Johnson and Allen are great cornerbacks, but consider a few things.

Johnson and Allen are rated so highly right now because the rivals and scout guys have seen them at camps and such. They've received much more publicity and deservedly so, have performed well at camps.


However.... Evege and Torrence have only camped at Ohio State. I really believe Torrence has the ability to be an AWESOME cornerback. When we look at our cornerbacks the past few years who have been studs, they have all been big, pretty fast, and very physical. The thing is, none of them were close to Torrence in terms of speed or athletic ability on tape.

I think that if Torrence and Evege were to go to one of the combines and match up against wide receivers like Allen and Johnson did, they would be on the same playing field. In terms of athletic ability, they're all pretty even keel. The oly thing that would truely override that fact would obviously be experience and technique, but that can be taught of course.
 
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