Johnson evaluates signing options

Team West coach Terry Kirby and his staff had a plan for Waco High’s Victor Johnson.

Kirby, a 10-year NFL veteran at running back, spent the first week of the year directing Team West at the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Miami. The Team West coaches figured to work Johnson into their game plan in some coverage situations.

Johnson had plans of his own.

“They really didn’t think I was a hitting guy,” said Johnson, who finished the game with five tackles and an interception. “They thought I was a laid-back, covering guy. I was kind of like, ‘Watch when the game comes. When we get down there I’m going to knock some heads off.’ That was a big deal to me.”

With the high school and college football seasons completed, recruiting season has shifted into high gear. For college football fans, that means daily checking Web sites to see which schools have landed top prospects.

For high school players like Johnson, it’s time to carefully evaluate options.

Johnson is the best safety prospect coming out of Texas this year according to recruiting guru Randy Rodgers, a former University of Texas recruiting coordinator.

But that doesn’t make it an easy choice for Johnson, who’s narrowed his list of schools to Miami, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

The Waco High senior has made an official visit to Oklahoma State and has one scheduled for next weekend to Oklahoma. That will probably be it as far as visits go. He spent a week in Miami at the all-star game, though he didn’t officially visit the Hurricanes’ program.

After he tours the Sooners’ facilities, he said it will be time to make a decision based on his two most important factors.

“I want to go where it feels comfortable,” Johnson said. “I’ve got to stay there my whole four years. I want to feel like I can go in and play early. Those are the main things I’m looking for.”

Those factors aren’t exactly unique among high school prospects.

However, Johnson has a clear picture of how he might be used in an ideal situation, which he gained through his experience at the O-D All-American Bowl.

“When I was down there in the bowl game they were thinking I would be good at a nickel package,” Johnson said. “They think I could really play early in a nickel package because I’m a good cover guy.”

But Waco High coach Johnny Tusa said he can see Johnson being a big hitter from the safety position by the time his college career is over.

Johnson was a key component of an outstanding Lions defense the last two seasons. In 2007, he racked up 75 tackles and finished his high school career with nine interceptions.

The recruiting Web site Rivals100.com lists Johnson at 6-0, 170, but he said he’s up to 180 and that college coaches have told him it will be easy to put on muscle mass once he gets into a college program.

“I think it would be unfair to compare a high school kid to a professional,” Tusa said, “but on a similar stage (Johnson) would be a Roy Williams type of guy, a backup linebacker at the safety position.”

Although Rodgers rated Johnson the top safety in the state, Rivals100 has a different take. On that Web site, Johnson is ranked the 19th best safety in the country, but there are three safeties from Texas ahead of him.

Tusa annually describes recruiting as an inexact science. Johnson agrees and said he doesn’t worry about what recruiting experts say.

“I just tell them, ‘Look at the film. The film never lies,’’’ Johnson said. “A computer network, they’re going to go by this or go by that. Compare me and this guy how we play, who plays the hardest?”

As for his college choice, Johnson said he’s got an idea where he’s headed. He’s already eliminated Baylor, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas Tech, all of whom he said offered him scholarships.

He said he grew up rooting for Miami and Texas, but it’s hard to tell who he might be leaning toward.

“I’m just going to wait until signing day,” Johnson said. “I’m going to take my last visit to OU, and from there I’m just going to call it.”