Arizona Wildcats football coaches all-in for top commit Johnson

Greg Johnson surprised many when he verbally committed to the Arizona Wildcats in early March.

It’s eight months later, the Wildcats are 2-7 and winless in Pac-12 play, and Johnson is not only still committed but remains the crown jewel of Arizona’s 2017 class.

The Los Angeles Augustus Hawkins High School senior heads into the playoffs this week. The Hawks are undefeated, and Johnson — a do-it-all athlete who projects as a college cornerback — is aiming for a state title. Johnson has amassed 1,196 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing, pulled in three TD passes and has 30 tackles and four interceptions on defense.

Programs are noticing. Johnson recently visited Nebraska and is expected to take trips to Notre Dame and USC at some point. Johnson was scheduled to visit Tucson for Saturday’s game between the UA and Colorado; instead, he’ll visit for the season-ending Arizona State game or take a trip following the season.

The Wildcats still appear to be in the driver’s seat.

Cornerbacks coach Donté Williams visited with Johnson in Los Angeles recently, and Johnson — a four-star recruit who is rated the No. 1 athlete in the West by Scout.com — said Arizona’s entire coaching staff is pushing for him.

“That’s very important,” Johnson told the Star. Williams “lets me know that I am a top priority for them when he keeps hitting me up. And it’s not just him: I speak to all the other coaches as well, so it’s like a team effort for them. That’s a good feeling.”

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The Star spoke with Johnson recently about his senior season, his Arizona recruitment and more.

On kick-starting Arizona’s 2017 class: “It’s cool because most of the players that are committed now are people that I’ve competed against. I’m pretty sure we’re all going to be successful there next year, and help Arizona get a lot of W’s.”

On his performance this season: “Individually, I felt like I’ve been doing good. I’ve got a couple interceptions, I’ve been running the ball well. I also have been helping out my teammates blocking and stuff like that, so I feel like I’m doing good individually.”

On his improvement overall: “I feel like I’m probably less selfish as a player because maybe last year I felt like I wanted to do more by myself, but now I’m more of a team player, helping my teammates get carries and stuff like that, basically just let them develop their game, and I’m more of a leader. I’m better than I was last year, I’m better at running back, I’ve been working hard and I feel like my game is better than last year.”

On his visit to Nebraska: “It was cool, just being out of California for a couple days. The atmosphere was cool, and they are cool people out there, so I enjoyed it overall.”

Extra points

• UA commit Rhedi Short took a visit to Illinois over the weekend. The three-star recruit was originally committed to UCLA before flipping to Arizona in July.
• Offensive line prospect Edgar Burrola underwent surgery on a torn labrum last week and is expected to miss the next five months in recovery. In a message posted to Twitter, Burrola — a product of Las Vegas Desert Pines High School — said that “everything went well and now I’m on a long road to recovery.” Burrola is rated a three-star guard who committed to Arizona in June.