Something smells a bit rotten in the state of Denmark football recruiting.
On Sunday evening, Dodge City junior college linebacker Gary Johnson committed to Alabama, his in-state dream school. On Monday, he was ranked as a four-star prospect by 247 Sports. Prior to his commitment, the first-year JuCo star was mostly unknown, completely unrated by any of the recruiting services.
That changed for Johnson as top programs continue to seek him out. The Douglas, Alabama native holds scholarship offers from the likes of Georgia, Ole Miss, Louisville and Baylor, yet Alabama’s scholarship appeared to be the coup de grace for both 247 Sports and Scout, which suddenly handed him a four-star rating less than 24 hours after his offer from Tuscaloosa. In fact, 247 Sports not only gave Johnson a four-star rating, they named him their top overall inside linebacker junior college prospect, the top Alabama junior college prospect and the top overall junior college prospect in the entire nation.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that 247’s experts have been analyzing Johnson for days and finally came to a conclusion about his potential on Monday, bringing together a confluence of rating and scholarship opportunity that coalesced into a perfect storm of potential controversy. That’s possible, but it sure would seem fishy … or at the very least, overly convenient.
As for Johnson, here’s what he looked like as a high school senior at Douglas High. You determine whether he improved enough in his first year in college to warrant Alabama’s interest and his sky-high rating.