The surprise declaration by Lavon Johnson to become a Texas Longhorn in the transfer portal has some wondering about his stats and impact.
Lavon Johnson A Longhorn, Despite Early Signing with the University of North Carolina
The University of Texas Longhorns got a surprise addition to their defensive line via the transfer portal on Friday (April 18) as Lavon Johnson committed after visiting Austin the night before. The defensive tackle out of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was part of the 2023 recruiting class for the University of Maryland after being recruited by Virginia Tech, Indiana, Michigan, and Baylor.
Johnson’s commitment comes with some controversy, as he had previously committed to and signed with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, coached by Bill Belichick, earlier on Friday. But the bigger issue lies in how much value he can add to the Longhorns based on his previous stats.
In his two years as a Terrapin, Johnson tallied 19 total tackles, with 14 of them being solo tackles, to go with one sack. His career-high of six tackles in a game came in a loss against the Iowa Hawkeyes last season, and he then had three in a game against number four-ranked Penn State the following week.
In the latest episode of the Coffee & Football podcast on Friday, hosts Blake Munroe and Gerry Hamilton discussed Johnson’s potential and how coaches at Texas could see him. “He’d be more of a rotational piece,” Hamilton said. “He’s got talent, but he’s battled a few injuries…I don’t think he would be the last D-lineman taken in the portal.”
KEEP READING: Early Spring Transfer Portal Winners Include North Carolina, Purdue
Indeed, Johnson now joins a quartet of defensive linemen from the portal coming to Texas, including Cole Brevard of Purdue University, Travis Shaw from UNC, and Ohio State’s Hero Kanu. The group looks to replenish head coach Steve Sarkisian’s defense, which already has sophomore Alex January looking to build on his strong freshman start, and adds five-star freshman Justus Terry, four-star Myron Charles, and fellow four-star Josiah Sharma from the school’s number one-ranked signing class.
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