Orhian Johnson, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound three-star quarterback/athlete from Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport, Fla., insists he's still no where near making a decision from among his 10-plus scholarship offers.
"I don't really have any favorites narrowed down yet," Johnson said. "My father and me are gonna take a look at academics, the coaches, the players and the whole program and see what would be the best fit for me.
"I really wanted to take things slow because I wanted to give the majority of my attention to my team," he said. "Our playoffs start in a few weeks and I plan to have my top five (favorites) and officials set before then."
Although he denies a leader, Johnson said he is favoring South Florida, Ohio State and Florida. Both the Bulls and Buckeyes have offered, but the Gators haven't. He also has offers from Indiana, Florida International, Kansas, Connecticut. among others.
"Florida is already pretty loaded, so they are seeing which position I could play," he said. "I think they might recruit me as a defensive back or perhaps a wide receiver."
Johnson, ranked as the No. 47 quarterback in the country by Scout.com, says that South Florida is recruiting him for quarterback, while Ohio State likes him as an athlete. "Troy Smith started out at Ohio State as an athlete and he ended up being a Heisman trophy winner."
Although it's not an official visit, Johnson will trip to Ohio State for the Michigan State game on Oct. 20. "I really want to go up there and see a game," he said. "I wanted to get up there before my official visit because I wanted to get a chance to see how the coaches and players interact before a game and get the whole experience. When I take my official visits most schools will be preparing for bowl games and the regular season will be over."
Johnson has already attended a few South Florida games as well as the Florida/Tennessee game. "It's great seeing a game at Florida," he said. "I love how loud it gets. Florida could be playing a Div. IAA team and they'd still be sold out. They are also still pretty young and are playing great and will get better. They just have amazing athletes there.
"South Florida is a little different," he said. "They don't have the history or tradition that Florida does, but it's still a great stadium and a fun place to play. USF has an amazing team and I remember watching them practice before the season and thinking how good they'll be. I'm not really surprised they are ranked No. 2 right now. They aren't just satisfied going to a bowl game and I remember coach Jim Leavitt talking about how they want to win a Big East championship and a national championship."
Boca Ciega High School has a 4-2 record and Johnson says he's already thrown 10 touchdowns.
He reports a 3.4 core GPA and a 17 ACT.