Nick Johnson had received the standard
letters of interest from East Carolina, but it wasn’t until recently
that the Pirates got serious about the 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker
from East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte.
“It wasn’t a long, drawn-out
recruitment,’’ said Johnson, who is the third player to join ECU’s
recruiting Class of 2006. “They had sent me a package before the season
and invited me to come to any games I wanted to. But it was only
recently they started to call.
“I guess we spoke for about two weeks
and then they asked me to send some game film. I did, and the next day
they called and offered me a full scholarship. I couldn’t turn that
down.’’
North Carolina, South Carolina and
Tennessee had also been recruiting Johnson, but the Pirates were the
first to come through with a scholarship offer.
Johnson was drawn to ECU for many
reasons, including the fact that the Pirates graduate a number of
veteran linebackers like Chris Moore, Richard Koonce and Deshawn
Stephens.
“I know they lose a whole senior crew
of linebackers, and that played a part,’’ Johnson said. “Of course,
they’ve told me I would probably be redshirted next year. But then I
could come in and make an impact as a redshirt freshman and get a lot of
playing time. They told me they wanted to build the defense around me,
so I liked that.’’
Johnson expects to play middle or
inside linebacker at ECU, which is the position he’s played at East
Mecklenburg since his sophomore season.
He actually made the East Mecklenburg
varsity as a freshman and was expected to play quarterback before he
altered that plan and his career in a pre-season scrimmage.
“I had played linebacker and
quarterback in middle school,’’ Johnson said. “I was kind of skinny,
like about 6-foot, 160 pounds or something like that. We had a middle
linebacker that year who was one of the best in the state named Robert
Claitt. So they really brought me in and had me working out with the
quarterbacks in the preseason.
“But we went to a scrimmage at Kings
Mountain and I think I had like crushing hits at linebacker, so they
figured maybe that was where I should play.’’
Johnson played extensively at several
positions on defense as a freshman, then moved into the starting job at
middle linebacker as a sophomore. He earned All-Southwestern Conference
honors as a sophomore and repeated that last season when he recorded 151
tackles, five quarterback sacks, 11 tackles for losses and three
interceptions. Johnson also blocked five kicks as a junior.
Intelligence and football savvy are two
of Johnson’s best attributes.
“I think I’m pretty smart on the
football field,’’ Johnson said. “I’m able to read plays, side-step
tacklers, get in there and hit them hard. I guess you can say I play
physical.’’
Johnson has come by those talents
honestly. His father, Ed, was a prep star at East Henderson High where
he led his team to an undefeated season and a state championship.
“I’ve been playing football since I was
about 5,’’ Johnson said. “I’ve just always been around the game.’’
Johnson isn’t the only Charlotte area
prospect the Pirates are pursuing. They’ve also recently offered 6-4,
290-pound offensive tackle Michael Ingersoll from Butler High. Akron,
North Carolina and Vanderbilt have also extended grants to Ingersoll,
who was selected to represent the state in the annual N.C.-S.C. Shrine
Bowl All-Star Game later this month.
East Carolina will also get an official
visit on January 6 from one of the state’s top receiving prospects in
6-4, 193-pound Javon Brumsey from Northeastern High in Elizabeth City.
Brumsey has also set dates to visit Hampton and James Madison. Rutgers
is his only other Division I-A scholarship offer besides the Pirates.
