College Football
After his true freshman season at Clemson, quarterback Hunter Johnson moves to Northwestern and the Big Ten Conference. Johnson was ranked by ESPN as the number 1 pocket passer and the number 21 overall player in the 2017 recruiting class. At Clemson, however, he would be competing with a top-rated pocket passer and number 2 overall player for 2018, Trevor Lawrence. Kelly Bryant is the man to beat for the starting QB position.
Keeping it in the Family
Johnson visited other schools as well, in the time leading up to his decision to go to Northwestern. He visited Duke, and also considered Purdue before making his final decision. His older brother Cole was formerly a backup wide receiver in Evanston. Johnson says he has had great opportunity to get to know the staff and program, and his family trusts both. Northwestern is, of course, thrilled to pick up a player of Johnson’s caliber, even though he will need to sit out this season. He will have 3 years of eligibility starting in 2019. They are hopeful that they will get Clayton Thorson back this year to start. Thorson is a 3-year starter and is coming off an ACL injury. As Hunter Johnson moves to Northwestern, let’s take a look at what the move means for his new team.
What This Means for Northwestern
As the only 5-star QB prospect that Pat Fitzgerald has been able to coach so far at Northwestern, Johnson is the highest-rated. As a pro-style passer, Johnson was ranked number 2 across the country in his class. He was ranked number 30 among overall players. He was the MVP of the 2017 US Army All-American Game. In high school, he threw for 6,657 yards and 69 touchdowns. He also had 727 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns.
In his true freshman year at Clemson, Johnson appeared in 7 games. He was 21 for 27 in pass attempts for 234 yards and a touchdown. In the October game against Wake Forest, he was 5-for-5 in pass attempts, and connected for a touchdown. According to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, Johnson worked hard to improve between that Wake Forest game and his second game against The Citadel in November. When he becomes eligible in 2019, Northwestern has themselves an elite-caliber starter, who’s not afraid of hard work.
Written by Susannah Schmidt
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