On Wednesday morning, Notre Dame extended a scholarship to wide receiver Avery Johnson of Pompano Beach, Fla. (Blanche Ely High School).
The Irish weren't scared off by the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder’s verbal commitment to LSU, which he offered the Tigers back in September. Ely head coach Rodney Gray expects Johnson to end up in Baton Rouge, but he is at least listening to other schools.
“I believe he is pretty solid with his commitment to LSU as far as I know,” said Gray. “I know he's appreciative of all the offers, but I'm pretty sure he's planning on going to LSU.
“I don’t know if he’s entertaining schools, but we have people that come by campus every day and see him in practice. Whatever conversations have gone on besides that, I don’t know anything about. We’re being cordial to everyone.”
Johnson, who is the brother of former LSU and current Arizona Cardinal cornerback Patrick Peterson, caught 24 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns as a junior, giving him 66 receptions for 956 yards and 10 touchdowns on his career.
“Avery brings lots of excitement to a team,” Gray said. “He's a big-play receiver and is an incredible physical specimen…He combines that with the excellent attitude that's what makes him special.”
According to Gray, Johnson’s list of attributes is a long one.
“Height, weight, size, speed. He has it all,” Gray said. “He’s 6-3, 185, 190, runs a sub-4.3, 4.4 40. Great hands, great leaping ability, physical player. He comes from a long line of athletes in his family as well, so he is just blessed.”
The contact from Notre Dame hadn’t been too much before Wednesday, according to Gray, but he wasn’t surprised the Irish came through.
“It is something we were looking for because some of the major schools in the country have offered,” the coach said. “We knew that Notre Dame would probably be coming around at some point.”
Johnson also holds offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Memphis, Michigan, Miami, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Central Florida and USC.
Gray isn’t sure if Johnson plans on taking any visits, but ISD hopes to catch up with the receiver this afternoon for more.
