Georgia Football: 3 JUCO Players UGA could add in 2019

Jermaine Johnson, OLB, Independence CC

Johnson is currently ranked as the number one overall player in the JUCO ranks. He’s from Minnesota and when he was in high school, basically nobody noticed him. He had zero offers from any school and so ended up at Independence CC. That school was chosen to be subject to the Netflix Documentary ‘Last Chance U’ and so Johnson does make appearances every now and again.

Now if you’re looking to get to know the man, be aware, Johnson isn’t a feature of the show. The producers almost always try to focus on certain types of storylines and Johnson isn’t one of them. He’s a hard-working, smart kid who according to recent reports (and his highlight video) has a GPA of 3.5. That doesn’t exactly make for much drama, or play into the whole ‘last chance’ element of the show. So instead, they tend to focus on guys who have some kind of problem and are one strike from blowing their final shot at playing football.

Based on his film and his GPA, Johnson isn’t in that category. He has what appears to be a very bright future ahead of him. He’s a long, athletic guy who is currently a force on the edge at the JUCO level. In 11 games, he accounted for 8 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. When you watch the film, he very clearly jumps out as a player that needs to be at a higher level.

His film looks very good and he’s clearly a versatile player. Yes, he’s raw and is going to need some work to tap into his potential, but the talent is clear. Georgia has a stacked outside linebacking group and Johnson won’t just be given a spot there by any means. But you can clearly see that if he keeps developing, this is a player who is going to make an impact on a bigger stage one day.