The Colorado Buffaloes HC Deion Sanders must have too many things on his plate right now. His sons – Shedeur and Shilo are yet to find their new home in the NFL. And as a father, he must have lost his goodnight’s sleep. But that doesn’t mean he had put the Buffs program on autopilot. Rather Deion is stirring the pot in the recruiting race.
The man in question here is defensive lineman James Johnson. Right now the fight to land Johnson is a legit tug-of-war. Turns out that the young chap has some soft corners for Deion and the Buffs. And BOOM! This leaves Kirby Smart and Georgia Bulldogs in the backseat.
The Coach Prime factor in James Johnson’s interest in Colorado
The North Fort Myers defensive lineman had risen to fame since last year July. Back then he had 20 total offers under his belt. But he finally came up with a top 10 list on March 1. The schools that were able to make the cut are Georgia, Florida Gators, Florida State, Miami, USC, Colorado, Syracuse, Penn State, UCF, and Texas. So, now all eyes are on the consensus four-star recruit to find out which way he heads. While Johnson is yet to choose his home, the analyst dropped a hint on who might be lucky to have him onboard. On the On3 podcast, analyst Steve Wiltfong stated, “No.1 defensive lineman in the country per the On3 Industry, James Johnson. Georgia and Syracuse have been leading the pack but Colorado is one of his favorites.”
Now what makes Deion’s Buffs have that edge? Well, here the Coach Prime factor will come into play. That’s because both the Buffs HC and the recruit share the same alma mater. As Wiltfong revealed, “He goes to North Fort Myers High School. That’s where coach Sanders played his high school football.” The visit date in Boulder is also fixed. As per Hayes Fawcett’s reports, the Buffs have locked in a visit with Johnson on March 15. When it comes to Deion’s Colorado, the desperation is real.
Last season, Coach Prime’s program suffered a devastating blow to their Playoff aspirations after going down 37-21 to Kansas. The primary reason behind the fallout happened to be their defensive vulnerabilities. Kansas exploited Colorado’s defense as they amassed over 400 yards of total offense. In that case, Johnson is the one to keep their boat afloat. As director of scouting and ranking Charles Power wrote, “Johnson is an electric athlete who makes plays in the backfield at a high clip. The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder racked up 29 TFL in just nine games as a junior. He is a top thrower in track and field, sporting a stellar 57-7 foot best in the shot put.” This might be leaving Smart with a sense of betrayal.
Will James Johnson’s kind words for Georgia all lose value?
Yes, Kirby Smart and Co. might have seen some hope while running with nine other competitors. The mission? To get the services of one of the best defensive players in the 2026 class. Meanwhile, this week came with a huge boost. Johnson confirmed that he will be visiting Georgia on June 20. Yes, it’s going to be his last official visit, but that was not a bad sign for Smart’s fam.
Forget the dates, Johnson himself pacified Georgia stating that they were leading the hotly contested race. The reason the No.1 DL’s behind the inclination towards the Bulldogs? The Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott, as he himself confessed, “I like coach Scott a lot and coach Smart is a big reason why Georgia is on top too.” His last visit to Smart’s squad has been a grand hit.
The fact that the Bulldogs are a pro in bolstering the defensive line is a big plus point for James Johnson. However, he did not shy away from accepting how his notion of Georgia changed post his visit. “Before that visit, I wasn’t too high on Georgia. Coach Scott recruited me hard, I went up there and that visit changed things. I saw a lot of Georgia.”
The question now remains: A shared history with Deion or a shot at defensive supremacy with Smart — where will James Johnson’s compass lead him?
The post Deion Sanders Deals Kirby Smart Upsetting News as No.1 DL James Johnson Announces College Football Future appeared first on EssentiallySports.
