The name of Jacksonville Ribault linebacker Jakob-Elijah Johnson popped up on the radar this week ($). Johnson is playing his senior year of prep football in the Sunshine State, by way of Stuttgart, Germany.
It's hard to read too much into the highlights above from his time on the field in Germany. The competition Johnson faces is fairly dreadful. There are also a few assorted clips on Hudl from his first three games at Ribault, as well. He certainly looks the part, however. And Johnson clearly displays a willingness to initiate contact, which is awfully important in any prospect projecting to the defensive side of the football.
Ribault has Johnson listed at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, up from the 6-3, 230 his highlight videos posted on YouTube back in February had him at. If either measurement is legitimate, Johnson has excellent size for a LB/DE prospect coming out of the prep ranks.
Germany, of course, probably would be considered to have the best track record of producing football players out of any country in Europe. New England Patriots offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer is a native of Germany, as is Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Bjoern Warner. Markus Kuhn starred at N.C. State and spent last season with the Giants. There have been a few success stories in recent years, to be sure.
Of course, there's also the example of Constantin Ritzmann. The "Germanator" was highly publicized coming out of North Florida Christian in Tallahassee where he starred for a year after coming over from Germany. Ritzmann never quite lived up to the hype, but did carve out a solid career in Knoxville, and had a cup of coffee in the NFL.
In any case, the physical skills indicate that Johnson is at least worth a look for major college programs looking to add some size in the front seven. His story should be an interesting one to follow over the coming months.
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