I want to preface this by saying that I don't know JD Johnson - I have never met him or his family. And this might go in the "cool story bro" archives here in The Fort.
I work out at a gym in Scottsdale that works with high school and college athletes, on occasion, pros too. And of course, has beens or never weres like myself. Very professional, first rate trainers. My workout partner played at Wisconsin under Alvarez in the 1990's - and he is impressed by the gym and the coaching. The gym is owned and operated by a longtime Pinnacle FB coach although he stopped coaching there last season to focus on this full time.
Many Pinnacle players (and coaches) also work out there. They either work out in the early morning or after school. JD Johnson is one of them, but he's in the after school group, so I have never met him.
Just with the nature of any gym, you meet the others working out at the same time, even if they are in different groups. For example, this morning we were all doing deadlifts, albeit with different regimens and in different cages. It is quite a sight, with my small group pushing 50 next to a bunch of teenagers all sharing cages and weights with AC/DC and Guns n Roses blaring.
Anyway, the coaches have seen a lot of talent come through Pinnacle and they Valley. The Pinnacle coaches have personally worked with Lewerke, Rattler and Johnson. They LOVE JD Johnson.
Physically, they say he has all the tools - arm, mobility, height. But his leadership is really what they rave about. He's a natural leader. The other kids love him too. He's one of the hardest workers in the afternoon group.
These aren't coaches who have never seen D1 talent. They have seen a ton of it. They've had a string of Power 5 QB now in their own program and they play against big time programs too. I have been hearing about JD Johnson for a while now, because everyone knows I am a Michigan guy. They have been saying Johnson is going to blow up this summer and they know what that means - they just finished coaching Rattler.
Also, it says something that the kid was willing to come to a high level program and compete, knowing that no matter what, he was going to have to sit behind Rattler. And when his number was called, he was ready. There is value in this.
Take all of this FWIW. But I figured that I should share it because it may provide some different insight.
I work out at a gym in Scottsdale that works with high school and college athletes, on occasion, pros too. And of course, has beens or never weres like myself. Very professional, first rate trainers. My workout partner played at Wisconsin under Alvarez in the 1990's - and he is impressed by the gym and the coaching. The gym is owned and operated by a longtime Pinnacle FB coach although he stopped coaching there last season to focus on this full time.
Many Pinnacle players (and coaches) also work out there. They either work out in the early morning or after school. JD Johnson is one of them, but he's in the after school group, so I have never met him.
Just with the nature of any gym, you meet the others working out at the same time, even if they are in different groups. For example, this morning we were all doing deadlifts, albeit with different regimens and in different cages. It is quite a sight, with my small group pushing 50 next to a bunch of teenagers all sharing cages and weights with AC/DC and Guns n Roses blaring.
Anyway, the coaches have seen a lot of talent come through Pinnacle and they Valley. The Pinnacle coaches have personally worked with Lewerke, Rattler and Johnson. They LOVE JD Johnson.
Physically, they say he has all the tools - arm, mobility, height. But his leadership is really what they rave about. He's a natural leader. The other kids love him too. He's one of the hardest workers in the afternoon group.
These aren't coaches who have never seen D1 talent. They have seen a ton of it. They've had a string of Power 5 QB now in their own program and they play against big time programs too. I have been hearing about JD Johnson for a while now, because everyone knows I am a Michigan guy. They have been saying Johnson is going to blow up this summer and they know what that means - they just finished coaching Rattler.
Also, it says something that the kid was willing to come to a high level program and compete, knowing that no matter what, he was going to have to sit behind Rattler. And when his number was called, he was ready. There is value in this.
Take all of this FWIW. But I figured that I should share it because it may provide some different insight.
