Countdown to 2018 IUFB Kickoff: 98 Days (Jerome Johnson)

Written By Alex Compton (@alexncompton)

Countdown to IUFB Kickoff 99 Days: Jerome Johnson

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 295 pounds

Hometown: Bassfield, MS (Bassfield High School)

Class/Position: Redshirt Sophomore/ Defensive Tackle

We at Hoosier Huddle have discussed this at length in the past, but the 2017 defensive line outplayed their projections pre-season by a wide margin. Riddled by inexperience and a lack of depth on the edge and on the interior, Mark Hagen really got the group to play solid, solid football and anchor another really strong defense for Tom Allen. Lots of guys stepped up and made it a collective effort, and Jerome Johnson was certainly no exception to that fact. After redshirting his first season in Bloomington, Johnson stepped up in a big way to add production in the D-Tackle rotation. 

The former three-star recruit out of Mississippi played in every game for the Hoosiers last season, and posted solid numbers of 18 tackles (10 solo), one sack, and  3.5 tackles for loss. His two best games of the season came against Virginia and Wisconsin, and those games gave us a glimpse of just how good Johnson can be. While productive in his first year of game action, Johnson was wildly inconsistent. His motor was the primary culprit for that deficiency last season, so improving that motor as well as his conditioning will be his main areas of focus this summer. 

Looking forward to 2018, Johnson is going to be looked at to really improve his production and be a big time player for Indiana next season. The depth of the defensive line on the interior will be better than last year, but they still need some players to go from solid to potentially dominant. With Ja’merez Bowen, Mike Barwick, Syracuse grad transfer Kayton Samuels, LeShaun Minor, and others ready to contribute, Johnson will have his work cut out for him to establish himself as that “go to” guy on the inside. If he takes that challenge head on and becomes the player IU knows he can become, that will bode extremely well for the Hoosiers in 2018. 

Fans of Hoosier Huddle can help support the site by shopping on Amazon using the ad below at no cost to the shopper. Thank you for your support.