by Bill Seals
Iowa State hosted a four-star Rivals250 prospect that’s considered the top player in Minnesota for the 2020 class this past weekend.
St. Paul Minnehaha Academy junior Kaden Johnson arrived in Ames on Friday for a two-day stop with teammate and Cyclone commit Craig McDonald.
“One of the first things I got to do was talk with the coaches for a little while,” said Johnson. “I got to sit in on some team and position meetings and talk with the players and coaches. After that, we went to the practice which was pretty cool. I got to see what I could potentially play in. Saturday was a scrimmage day, so I got to watch them do that. Then I talked to the coaches for a little bit before heading back to Minnesota.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Johnson has a 5.9 Rivals rating, is the 120th overall prospect and seventh outside linebacker nationally. In addition to his ISU offer, he has Power-5 ones from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wisconsin. Johnson currently claims no favorites out of that list.
In order to stand out amongst that pack of schools, the Cyclone staff spent a lot of time with Johnson’s mother during the visit.
“The biggest impact on me was probably how sincere the coaches are,” he said. “They always keep it real with you and don’t sugarcoat anything. It was cool how willing they always are to talk to me and my mom. Coach Campbell talked with my mom and she is a huge part of my life. She’s very important to me.”
Also, of interest to Johnson is how he could be utilized in a variety of roles if he inks with the Cyclones.
“I talked to Coach (Matt) Campbell for a little bit and he was telling me how happy he was that I got down there to watch them practice,” Johnson said. “He told me how they would use me down there. I would probably play a little bit of tight end and be a third-down rusher, which was pretty cool to me. I also talked to Coach (Tyson) Veidt and Coach (Alex) Golesh, who were both happy to see me. They were all thankful I was able to get down there for practice and to experience the meetings.”
Listed in the Rivals database as an outside linebacker, Johnson also hauled in 14 catches for 356 yards and five touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he recorded 75 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss, eight sacks and two forced fumbles on defense.
Johnson says he likes both sides of the ball.
“They said it’s possible I could do offense and have some defense,” he said. “We’ll have to see. I’m not sure what I want to play. I honestly don’t know. I love offense and defense. It was amazing for them to tell me I could play both ways. That’s super-cool. It’s pretty crazy that Joel Lanning was there as a quarterback and then switched to middle linebacker, which is a huge role.”
Another stop at I-State could be in the works for Johnson, who says he would likely head down with McDonald once again.
“Hopefully I can get down there for another visit, because that’s an easy trip to make,” he said. “It’s only about three hours from home. I want to get down there again. I had a great time with the coaches and it was a great experience. The coaches said I’m welcome anytime. Craig is a commit and he’s one of my good friends, so I can always ride down with his family.”
Iowa State hosted a four-star Rivals250 prospect that’s considered the top player in Minnesota for the 2020 class this past weekend.
St. Paul Minnehaha Academy junior Kaden Johnson arrived in Ames on Friday for a two-day stop with teammate and Cyclone commit Craig McDonald.
“One of the first things I got to do was talk with the coaches for a little while,” said Johnson. “I got to sit in on some team and position meetings and talk with the players and coaches. After that, we went to the practice which was pretty cool. I got to see what I could potentially play in. Saturday was a scrimmage day, so I got to watch them do that. Then I talked to the coaches for a little bit before heading back to Minnesota.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Johnson has a 5.9 Rivals rating, is the 120th overall prospect and seventh outside linebacker nationally. In addition to his ISU offer, he has Power-5 ones from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wisconsin. Johnson currently claims no favorites out of that list.
In order to stand out amongst that pack of schools, the Cyclone staff spent a lot of time with Johnson’s mother during the visit.
“The biggest impact on me was probably how sincere the coaches are,” he said. “They always keep it real with you and don’t sugarcoat anything. It was cool how willing they always are to talk to me and my mom. Coach Campbell talked with my mom and she is a huge part of my life. She’s very important to me.”
Also, of interest to Johnson is how he could be utilized in a variety of roles if he inks with the Cyclones.
“I talked to Coach (Matt) Campbell for a little bit and he was telling me how happy he was that I got down there to watch them practice,” Johnson said. “He told me how they would use me down there. I would probably play a little bit of tight end and be a third-down rusher, which was pretty cool to me. I also talked to Coach (Tyson) Veidt and Coach (Alex) Golesh, who were both happy to see me. They were all thankful I was able to get down there for practice and to experience the meetings.”
Listed in the Rivals database as an outside linebacker, Johnson also hauled in 14 catches for 356 yards and five touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he recorded 75 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss, eight sacks and two forced fumbles on defense.
Johnson says he likes both sides of the ball.
“They said it’s possible I could do offense and have some defense,” he said. “We’ll have to see. I’m not sure what I want to play. I honestly don’t know. I love offense and defense. It was amazing for them to tell me I could play both ways. That’s super-cool. It’s pretty crazy that Joel Lanning was there as a quarterback and then switched to middle linebacker, which is a huge role.”
Another stop at I-State could be in the works for Johnson, who says he would likely head down with McDonald once again.
“Hopefully I can get down there for another visit, because that’s an easy trip to make,” he said. “It’s only about three hours from home. I want to get down there again. I had a great time with the coaches and it was a great experience. The coaches said I’m welcome anytime. Craig is a commit and he’s one of my good friends, so I can always ride down with his family.”
