A.J. Johnson, Junior, Linebacker, Tennessee
Overview:
A.J. Johnson is a big, physical linebacker who many considered on the same level as LSU’s Kevin Minter and Georgia’s Alec Ogletree when it came to the pecking order of inside linebackers in the SEC. That is some good company. Johnson wasted no time making an impact at Tennessee. As a freshman in 2011, he tallied 80 tackles and forced one fumble. Johnson was named to a variety of All-Freshman teams for his efforts.
But the best was still to come. As a sophomore in 2012, Johnson led the SEC and ranked third in the country with 138 total tackles. There are few players in the nation that are as sure of tacklers as Johnson. Johnson’s superb sophomore season was not enough to make Tennessee’s defense any good though and he will need to emerge as a leader as an upperclassman and help the entire unit perform well.
Final Projection:
Physically, Johnson has it all. He is 6-2 and 243 pounds and as tough as it gets. Anybody who records 138 tackles in the SEC has to be tough. But that may be pretty much all an NFL team gets when they take Johnson. In his first two seasons with the Volunteers, he has tallied just one sack and broken up just one pass. Johnson has not proven to be big play maker. That is not exactly what he does, but Johnson’s lack of flash could hurt him on draft day.
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