Countdown to 2019 IUFB Kickoff: 98 Days (Jerome Johnson)

Written by Nathan Comp

#98

The Hoosier Huddle Countdown to Kickoff has begun. Just 14 weeks remain until the Hoosiers kickoff the 2019 season in Lucas Oil Stadium against the Ball State Cardinals. Today we will highlight number 98, Jerome Johnson.

Jerome Johnson (Redshirt Junior)

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 294 Pounds

Hometown: Bassfield, Mississippi

Position: Defensive Line

The man wearing the number 98 jersey in 2019, Jerome Johnson, will be filling an important positional need for Indiana. After losing rotational players Mike Barwick, Kayton Samuels, Brandon Wilson and Ja’Merez Bowen along the defensive line, Johnson will play an important role for defensive line coach Mark Hagen. He will have to bring a strong interior presence to allow the Hoosiers’ linebackers to roam free into the backfield.

Fortunately for Coach Hagen, Johnson projects to fill the role well. The 2017 Honorable Mention BTN.com Big Ten All-Freshman added on to a successful redshirt freshman season during 2018. He led the team with 3.5 sacks, 32 stops (21 solo), and finished second with 5.5 tackles for loss. He also forced and recovered one fumble. His best game of the season likely came in one of Indiana’s worst team performances of the year against Iowa, in which he had a sack and two tackles for loss and earned IU defensive player of the week honors.

In 2019, we expect Jerome Johnson to fill one of the starting positions along the interior defensive line. Johnson joins returning Hoosier Juan Harris and the newest addition to the roster, JUCO commit Demarcus Elliot, as Coach Allen continues to fill out the two-deep along the defensive line. He recently received praise from head coach Tom Allen in an interview with Peegs, in which Allen mentioned, “a kid like Jerome Johnson who didn’t have a lot going on and now he could be an NFL guy.” An NFL caliber season out of Johnson would certainly help Indiana’s bowl hopes in 2019.

Hutch’s Trivia Question

In honor of the late Terry Hutchens, we are including a daily IUFB trivia question from his book So You Think You Know Indiana University Football. Hutch is dearly missed and this is our way of keeping his memory with us this season. Please leave your answers in the comments section.

Besides coaching at Indiana, John Pont, Bill Mallory and Terry Hoeppner also coached at what MAC school?

(check back tomorrow for the answer)

 Yesterday’s Answer: 1925