In my own words: Johnny Wilson

Everyone may have their own theory as to why Johnny Wilson decommitted from Oregon in favor of ASU. Listening to the four-star prospect and Top-110 player, one will quickly learn that ultimately a multitude of factors contributed to one of the most significant pieces of news on the West Coast in the previous recruiting cycle.

At Calabasas (Calif.) High School Wilson posted over 2,400 receiving yards and 35 receiving touchdowns through his junior year and had at least 40 or more receptions in each of his first three seasons. This placed him as a consensus Top-15 wide receiver in the 2020 class, but as Wilson describes, he never felt like he had to live up the lofty expectations that have followed him throughout his prep career and has specific factors in mind that drive him to excellence.

(note this interview was conducted before Wilson’s arrival to ASU)

“The first time I started playing football, I was eight-years-old, and I started off as a running back. I was bigger than everybody else, and I was pretty strong. I was fast too, so they put me at running back up until about I would say seventh grade. That’s when they (coaches) said: ‘okay, you’re too tall to keep playing running back.’ So, I tried going to play wide receiver. I wasn’t the best in my first year. And then the eighth-grade year is where it all started. I saw that I can actually take this position and my talent at this position and actually do something with it at the next level. It really wasn’t until eighth grade where I really got introduced to the recruiting process and knew that 'shoot I can really go to college for this.' I always played football because I liked playing. But then football took off into high school and then you know what it is from there.

“I’ll never forget my first touchdown. We’re playing the Northridge Knights, and I was on the North Valley Golden Bears, and I caught a little sweep to the outside. We’re on our own 15-yard-line, and I was wide open taking off. Actually, a good friend of mine that I went to school with, he played safety on the other team. So, then he was chasing after me. I was like ‘shoot, I can’t let him tackle me; this is my friend.’ This is my first time using a stiff arm. I stiff-armed the mess out of him, literally pushed him into the dirt, and I kept going. It was an 85-yard touchdown. Then on defense, I played defensive end and linebacker. All of Pop Warner I played every position on defense. I was versatile. In my eighth grade year, I had 17-18 sacks, I think at defensive end.

“I’ve always been bigger than everyone except probably in the eighth-grade year. I didn’t really hit my growth spur until probably the end of my eighth-grade, so that’s probably the year when guys were probably a little bit closer to my height. I went from 6’1 in eighth grade to 6’3 my freshman year, and then it took off from there. In my sophomore year, I was 6’5, and now I’m 6’6.

“I played at Calabasas High School for all four years. In my freshman year, I got there when they were coming off a win for the CIF title the previous year, and the program was really taking off. We were stacked that year, and I was coming in as the young buck. I had to fight for my position on offense because there were dudes who were all older than me, bigger than me, stronger than me. I had to fight and compete for my position, and eventually, I started for my first time in week six of my freshman year. The first start, I had three touchdowns against Westlake. And ever since then, freshman and sophomore year, it took off from there. I tried to play a little bit at safety when we practiced seven-on-seven. But when it came down to actual fall camp, the coaches told me I’m playing receiver. I never played tight end. I was always out wide. I’d come into the slot a little bit but no, I was never down in the three-point stance at the tight end position.

“What I’ve discussed with the coaches was that I’m strictly going to be a wide receiver and on my end, if I can’t get open against cornerbacks and my speed isn’t there, and I’m not doing things that a receiver should be doing on my part, then I’d understand if I ever got moved to tight end. I’d have to have a valid reason why. But throughout my whole career, I’ve been strictly a wide receiver, and I plan to keep it that way.

“My freshman year, I took a visit up there to Arizona State and the U of A. It was the old coaching staff. I really wasn’t interested in the school because nothing really interesting about the coaching staff or the place popped out to me. But when I got to go on a visit my senior year, and I saw all the new things they have there, and what they’re building over there, and got to meet some of the new coaches…I said, ‘okay, now, I could really see myself going to a place like this.’

“It helped that I had already knew what ASU was about in general, and I talked to coach Herm (Edwards) and coach AP (Antonio Pierce). I got to reach out to them before my visit, and they were telling me what they were really about at ASU. They told me what they’re trying to build over there, and that stood out to me. They were telling me how I could be an impact player in their program and on their offense. So, then I was thinking, ‘okay, maybe I can really check these guys out.’

“Coach AP was the first ASU coach to contact me. He was at one of our games. I think it was against Westlake our homecoming game my senior year. And I think that night I had three touchdowns or something like that. I think he came to probably a couple of games my junior year, but he really wasn’t recruiting me, and I had already had my top-five schools. After I committed to Oregon, he told me, ‘check us out if you want to. Door’s open. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t, you don’t.’

“Before I was considering ASU; I had already discussed with my family and all the coaches that I was talking to, telling them I was open. I wanted to take all my visits. I’ve never really been able to travel like that, and I wanted to go see other places. So, that’s what I was doing. When I visited there (Tempe) I really liked ASU and shut it (my recruitment) down there.

“Oregon respected my decision to take those recruiting visits because I had already told them previously that this is what I was going to do. It was an experience that I wanted to take, and it’s a once in a lifetime experience. There were no bad feelings between us.

“In my first conversation with coach AP, he was telling me about the whole quarterback situation. He told me that they got a great quarterback there in Jayden Daniels. He was starting as a freshman, and he’s taking that offense to another level. I like Jayden Daniels because he has a strong arm and he’s active. So, them using the deep ball and using their receivers’ speed , giving them opportunities to make plays on the ball, really stood out to me. Shoot, if all else fails, I’m 6’6. At least give me a chance.

"Coach AP was saying how I could be effective in that type of offense, and we could both get to where we want to be playing together. He was telling me that if I came to ASU, I have opportunities, and everyone is there to help the players get to where they want to be at the next level. The connections there are great, and I pretty much liked everything that had to offer there.

"I wasn't really serious about them (ASU) until I got there on my visit. That's when things got serious. I got to meet the people there. Meet the coaches. Everybody. I got to really see what they had to offer. And then we started communicating. Everything with the recruitment really took off after I landed in Tempe. Getting to sit down and talk ball with coach Herm Edwards was a great experience. Hearing his knowledge of the game and knowing that he could be my head coach and knowing that the other people around him that are surrounding him in that building can help me get to the next level and develop myself, and my game was big. Coach Herm was talking about how N'Keal Harry was a factor in that offense, and he saw I guess a similarity in my playing style and his. But he also saw some differences and why I could be a factor in their offense there.

"He was talking about how the game of football has helped him live his life and even help with a lot of things that weren't even football related. I told him I wanted to major in Business, and he told me that's a great thing to major in, and it could take me so many different places, especially with the connections you could get in football. So, it was great hearing his knowledge of the game and how to be successful, which really stood out to me. I viewed him as a coach that I could play for. And all the coaches talked about how I can develop into the receiver I want to be, and they told me what they're going to do to help me get there. From a football standpoint, that was what really stood out to me. I knew I could play for this team, and I wanted to play for this program.

"Coach AP and I would hop on the phone once a week, checking up to see how everything's going, and that was going on all the way up until my visit for about three weeks, I'd say. And then after my official visit there, it took off to a little more. We were able to text a couple of times a week, and we started communicating a little bit more, and that's when it got serious. So, yeah, the communication really took off after the visit. Coach AP is very laid back. When he talked to me after the Westlake game my senior year, he told me straight up, 'you're more than welcome to come up here and see what we have to offer. We would love to have you here. If you don't like it, then we respect it.' He wasn't blowing my phone up. He would shoot me a text here and there twice a week and was laid back. He wasn't pressuring me because I was still committed to Oregon at the time. That's how the communication was until I committed.

“I didn’t start watching Arizona State games on TV honestly until I probably watched the Arizona State-Oregon game (in 2019). My visit (during the USC game) was the first time I really watched an Arizona State game. ASU beating Oregon really didn’t play a factor in decommiting because anything can happen in football. You’ve seen teams like the Patriots lose to the Dolphins. Anything can happen in football, but I still think Arizona State is a great team. They can compete, and they could beat teams like Oregon, and I could be a part of that program. I could be a part of that program, along with the great coaching staff they have there. At the end of the day, I still think this would be a school that, regardless win or lose, would be a better opportunity for me.

“I knew I wanted to commit to ASU, but It was more on (signing day) December 18th where I really knew ‘okay, this is what I want to do.’ I was thinking about it all week. I was praying about it, talking to my family. That morning, we all sat down and talked about it, and I told them what I really wanted to do, and I heard their opinions on it. And we all thought ASU was a great choice.

“Prentice Gill was on the Oregon staff when they were recruiting me. I was really close to him. That was the thing though. I was close with him, and then when he got the ASU job (a couple of weeks before signing day), everyone asked me ‘Is that why you wanted to go to ASU?’ Honestly, I didn’t know he was going to Arizona State until the day I left from my (unofficial) visit to Oregon. The day I left, he went to ASU. But I was already talking about possibly switching to ASU with my family and everything. I was already leaning towards Arizona State. And he went over there, and he started talking to me about everything and how he could be my receivers’ coach. We had a great connection, and he knows what he’s doing. He had a great group of receivers at USC when he was there, along with Oregon. But this wasn’t a big factor in my decision coming to ASU, but that was something that I knew I could really lean on and look forward to if I do choose to go there.

“I talk a lot with the other (ASU) freshmen. We got our own little group chat going, and everyone’s looking forward to getting there and being with each other on this grind. I was on LV (Bunkley-Shelton), Daniyel (Ngata), and these dudes heavy a to come to ASU. I’ve known a couple of them for a while now so we already had that friendship built and now we’re looking to go get the national championship. Everyone’s trying to settle on a Pac-12 championship, but nah, let’s go get a natty.

“I feel that starting with my freshman year, I played in a time where high school football social media for some reason really started to take off. People always would post about you or talk about you on social media, and they would blow up, and people would have all these high expectations for you. Honestly, I know what I want to do, and I don’t look at it like I got to do it for the rankings or anything like that. I’m playing because I want to play, so there’s not too much pressure. If anything, the pressure is because I got to do this, so my whole family can be successful. I don’t want my mom to work anymore.”

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