Texas Football: 3 hidden gems for Steve Sarkisian in the 2022 class

Trevell Johnson, LB

Among the early commits in the Longhorns 2022 class for Sark is the three-star Arlington-Martin linebacker Trevell Johnson. This 6-foot-1 and 200-pound linebacker is likely to play up the middle in the front seven once he arrives on the Forty Acres. And the fact that Johnson was the initial linebacker commit in the Longhorns 2022 class could mean that some part of this defensive class is formed with him in mind.

That could give up him some type of a leg up down the road.

Granted, the ability of Johnson to turn his speed into a quick pursuit of the ball carrier results in the gifted end-to-end pursuit he has on the field. Johnson’s pursuit is something that just doesn’t quick when you watch his film. There is also some budding potential that Johnson has in terms of versatility between dropping into pass coverage and blowing up plays at the line of scrimmage.

Texas went all-in on the pursuit of Johnson out of the gates. They had Kwiatkowski and fellow new co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jeff Choate as his primary recruiters. Clearly, there is a good level of buy-in to the skill set of Johnson from both of these defensive coordinators.

The versatility in Johnson’s game is evident by the fact that he had at least three pass breakups and 90-plus combined tackles in each of his last two seasons with Martin High School. He’s just a linebacker with the raw ability to make plays for Texas. Think of someone like Jeffrey McCulloch or Anthony Wheeler as a starting point for where Johnson can play a role for this linebacker corps.

Texas only has one true linebacker commit in the 2022 class at the moment. The hope is to land someone like five-star Cy Park linebacker Harold Perkins and/or four-star Evanston Township linebacker Sebastian Cheeks down the road. But for now, appreciate the impact that Johnson could make in this 2022 class.