Countdown to 2020 IUFB Kickoff: 98 Days (Jerome Johnson)

/
98 Johnson.jpg

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The 2020 version of the Hoosier Huddle Countdown is underway! With the first two days out of the way, we are now on #98. The focus today is on a returning veteran defensive lineman that will help anchor the IU defense this season: Jerome Johnson.

Name – Jerome Johnson

Position – Defensive Line

Hometown – Redshirt Senior from Bassfield, Mississippi

Height – 6’3”

Weight – 303 pounds

Jerome Johnson joined the Indiana football program for the 2016 season after a very successful high school career at Bassfield High School. He was a three-time first-team all-state performer in Mississippi and was a three-star prospect. Johnson redshirted the 2016 season so his on-field work began in 2017. He played in all 12 games and was a solid piece of the rotation. As a redshirt sophomore in 2018, Johnson led the team in sacks and led the defensive line in tackles. Last season, he posted 43 tackles with five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Now a redshirt senior, the big man leads all active Hoosiers with 9.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss.

Johnson is a productive member of the line but there is significant competition for playing time up front. It seems very likely that James Head will be starting as one of the defensive ends. The other starting spot is up for grabs but Johnson will be battling with Sio Nofoagatoto’a, C.J. Person, Demarcus Elliott, Shamar Jones, Antoine Whitner and newcomers Jovan Swann (grad transfer from Stanford) and Damarjhe Lewis (freshman) for snaps on the interior. IU will need all of those guys as you can never have enough quality beef up front.

I think Johnson will continue to be a member of the rotation along the interior of the line as he consistently finds a way to make plays in the opposing team’s backfield. Pressuring teams from the interior of the line is incredibly valuable and if Johnson can provide another handful of sacks and between seven to ten tackles for loss, he will have had a stellar career in Bloomington. He was awarded IU’s most outstanding defensive lineman in 2019.