by Lee Brecheen
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| Ja'Ren Johnson |
June17, 2010 - Ja’ Ren Johnson from Ruston High School is like a lot of kids you read about in size (5-11, 180), but what sets this kid apart in ability is his balance and eyes to hit the hole, see the hole opening, and slide through so smoothly and glide outside from many defenders. This kid has the God given ability to make a lot of people miss and escape tackles with his feet always moving, and his hips always turning when he hits the hole.
I remember growing up watching Marcus Allen from USC run through a hole and slide side to side in open field, and all of a sudden he had 10, 15 or and 20 yard runs in the first half of most USC games, and looked that way with the Oakland Raiders. I’m not saying Johnson is Marcus Allen, but the way he runs, reminds me of a smaller version of Marcus. This kid also takes hits and breaks tackles on a wet field that will make you write his name down. I filmed this kid in 2009 and saw him run all over a very good 5A team (known for defenses) and made that unit look average some 196 yards later and the field was very wet, but it never affected Johnson’s footing to cut, turn and run.Once Ja’ Ren Johnson fills out, he will probably be in the 195 to 200 pound range, but I think he will always look lean , which is really good. I want to let the public know he split time last year with an All District senior running back Carlos Wilson, and still ran for 985 yards on 121 carries and 6 TDS. Johnson has soft hands too, where he caught 17 passes and 2 TDS in 2009. He has an ACT score of a 19, and a GPA of 2.8.
If you saw Johnson in person, you would be impressed that this kid can squat 425 pounds, clean 275, and bench 255 at just a lean 180 pounds. Hand timed he can run a true 4.41 forty all day long, and on a bad day a 4.55.
I enjoy watching this kid run with the football, and I will say he is DIV 1 all the way, and if he signs lower to IAA, he has a shot at the NFL one day if he keeps working hard. I had a chance to meet this kid in person 3 months ago, and came away super impressed at Ruston High School.
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