"I would say my athletic ability, quickness, and my ability to change directions
to get to the ball are my biggest strengths," added Dezmond Johnson. "I
am still working on becoming a better pass rusher. I am working on my hand techniques.
I need to get stronger in the offseason too."
Who are the main colleges involved right now?
"Ole Miss offered me a full ride. Vandy is recruiting me pretty hard, and
Duke offered me too. I believe those are the only three major programs that
are recruiting me really hard. I get a lot of letter from a lot of schools,
but they are not recruiting me like those three."
Johnson took in an unofficial visit to see the Rebels practice on Friday.
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| Dezmond Johnson |
"I really liked the campus. It is not real/real big, but it is not small
either. It is right in the middle. Their coaches seem like really good coaches
too. It seems like they know what they are talking about. I just like the campus.
It seems nice up there, and there seems like there is a lot to do. They also
put education as a priority. They put that over football."
Dezmond's parents and little brother accompanied him on the trip.
"My mom liked it. She liked that they had a different places to go work
on your school work. If one lab is full, then they other places for you to get
on a computer. Their Fed Ex academic center was really nice, and I think my
mom really/really liked that place (laugh). She also liked how the coaches are
really on top of your academics. If you miss a class, they know about it and
punish you. She likes how they keep in constant contact with their academic
staff. My dad liked that too. He was with my mom on just about everything. They
like how they put your education over football."
What stood out the most for Dezmond?
"I liked how they practice. It is a real fast pace practice. It is game
like, but not too much game like where they burn your legs out. They get a lot
done in a short amount of time."
What did the Ole Miss coaches say to Johnson while he was on the visit?
"They just talked about where they came from, and what they did before
they got to Ole Miss. They are trying to change things at Ole Miss. They said
Coach Nutt was a special coach, and there are only a few around like him."
What questions did Johnson have about Ole Miss before he came on the trip?
"I really did not have a lot of questions, but I did want to know about
the coaches and how they reacted to their players when they made a mistake.
It seemed like they spent a lot of time talking to them when they made a mistake.
It was more a learning period. You are actually learning while they are coaching
you. I also wanted to see what the campus was like. I heard that it was a nice
campus, but you never know until you see it for yourself. Ole Miss has a real
good name up here, so I just wanted to check it out for myself. I was expecting
it to be nice because of what I was being told, but it was even nicer than I
was expecting. I did not know it was that pretty around there. They are also
building a new Law Center. It is going to be really/really nice. They are building
a new center for another program, but I forgot which program it was. I do not
know. It is just really nice around there, and they are still making a lot of
improvements."
What is going on with Vandy?
"They are recruiting me pretty good right now. I went to the Vandy Jr Day
and watched their practice. They practice kind of like Ole Miss, but they are
not as fast paced. I did not really get a chance to walk around the campus because
I had to leave early. I met a few of their coaches, but I had to leave early,
so I did not get a lot of time to go over everything."
And Duke?
"I just really started talking to them. Coach McIntyre is talking to me.
He is really a good guy. They offered me Friday night . I just got in my papers
today. We just have been talking a lot lately. They seem like they are on the
rise like Vandy. I also know that there are lot of people who try to get into
Duke, but only a few do. It is a very prestigious academic school."