LINCOLN — Rahmir Johnson just couldn’t say no to Scott Frost’s offense.
The 5-foot-10, 173-pound four-star running back — who announced his commitment to the Huskers on Saturday — enjoyed his tour of NU before the spring game. He liked the atmosphere at the spring game, the coaches, his future teammates and especially Frost’s spread, no-huddle, fast-paced offense. That’s a perfect fit, Johnson said.
He’ll be in the “Duck” position — back, slot receiver and returner.
“It’s creative and it’s up-tempo,” Johnson said. “I like how they can use me in that offense. And it’s what I’m used to here.”
“Here” is Bergen County (N.J.) Catholic High School, an East Coast football power that produces Division I prospects annually. In the 2018 recruiting cycle, Nebraska nearly landed Bergen Catholic outside linebacker Javontae Jean-Baptiste until he made a signing day flip to Ohio State. But Jean-Baptiste was so impressed with NU’s recruiting effort, he passed on the praise to Johnson, and he told Nebraska about Johnson.
From there, the recruitment started for Johnson, who has 1,017 rushing yards over two seasons on only 176 carries. His speed — he’s run a 22.08 200 meters and is accomplished indoor sprinter, as well — attracted plenty of schools. Rutgers and Boston College had long been front-runners for Johnson. Mississippi was in the mix, too.
Those three, along with Nebraska, made Johnson’s final four, though he had offers from Pittsburgh, West Virginia and North Carolina, among others.
Johnson decided he was picking the Huskers one week ago. He held off on announcing his decision until Saturday as a surprise, he said. Originally from Harlem, Johnson lives in Brooklyn with his mom, Angela Johnson. He commutes to Bergen Catholic on Mondays, lives with a coach during the week and heads home on the weekends.
Will Mom, who sees her son mostly on weekends, be OK with him heading halfway across the country?
“She’s fine with it,” Johnson said. But he wants to bring her out this summer, too, when he tries to attend one of the Friday Night Lights camps.
Johnson is interested in recruiting more Huskers to the 2019 class, too.
“I’ll probably call some DBs,” he said.
Rivals and 247 Sports Composite both rate Johnson as a four-star. ESPN rates him as a three-star. Johnson ran a 4.54 40-yard time at a Nike camp. He’s the fifth overall commit — and second running back commit — of the 2019 recruiting class for Nebraska. Tulsa (Oklahoma) Booker T. Washington’s Thomas Grayson is the other running back commit.
