Texas A&M's Johnson still growing into NFL-caliber QB

Texas A&M senior Jerrod Johnson has always been a quarterback, even if it took him to be on the other side of the throw to garner the attention he's receiving now as the best signal caller in the Big 12.

"That's the common misconception; I played quarterback my whole life," Johnson said. "I played wide receiver my sophomore year [in high school] just to get on varsity, because we were loaded at quarterback. I actually did well at wide receiver and got early offers [from colleges] as a junior and received a lot of attention as a wide receiver."

Jerrod Johnson enters the season as the fifth-ranked senior QB despite mechanics concerns. (US Presswire)

The 6-feet-4, 243-pound Johnson was considered one of the nation's elite recruits at the receiver position entering his senior season in high school. But while he was catching passes as a junior, that same year he finally had a chance to show schools -- one in particular -- that he had the talent to be a quarterback at the collegiate level.

Johnson remembers vividly how Texas A&M offered him a scholarship to be their quarterback. He recalled that the starting quarterback at his high school, a senior at the time, got sick prior to a game and it allowed him to make a surprise start. A recruiter from Texas A&M was in the crowd that evening, and Johnson went on to complete 28 of 30 passes. Immediately after the game, the recruiter approached him and offered him a scholarship on the spot.

Texas A&M was the first school to offer Johnson a scholarship as a quarterback, because they were the only school that actually saw him throw live during his junior year. Johnson didn't hit the recruiting circuit hard and only attended three offseason camps (Scout.com, Texas A&M and Manning Academy) to show schools he could throw. But, Johnson said, "you don't usually get recruited heavily at those camps."

A year later, Johnson took over the reins as Humble's starter and totaled 1,764 yards of total offense (1,151 passing, 613 rushing) and scored 17 touchdowns (six passing, 11 rushing). Even with those numbers, outside of A&M, schools were skeptical of Johnson's ability as a quarterback, because he didn't throw much in the schools two-back, I-formation offense.

Florida and Oregon made a late charge at Johnson after his senior year, but his decision was already final.

"I really wanted to go to A&M," Johnson said. "My dad [who passed away last year] played [wide receiver and defensive back] there; it's close to my house, there's a lot of tradition -- I was an Aggie kid. I fell in love with the place."

The love that Johnson felt for A&M didn't convince former A&M coach Dennis Franchione, who was instrumental in the recruitment of Johnson, from redshirting him during his first year on campus.

Physically long and lean if promising and raw as a quarterback, Franchoine's decision was easy, and it forced Johnson to take a step back before he would have a chance to move forward.

Much as it was during Johnson's high school days, the Aggies were already set at quarterback with Stephen McGee, who is currently the third-string QB with the Dallas Cowboys. But, after McGee went down with an injury during the 2008 season, Johnson, a sophomore, went on to start 10 games and displayed the talent that Franchione knew he had by completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 2,435 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Ironically, the success that Johnson had that season came under the guidance of Mike Sherman, who took over for Franchione as head coach prior to the '08 season.

"It was tough going through the coaching change, but I think it was a blessing in disguise," Johnson said. "I learned so much about the run game, as far as the fronts, technique and blocking schemes from Coach Fran. When you run the option, you have to have a good understanding of all that. But, when coach Sherman came in, I got a whole different understanding of the passing game. With those two philosophies combined, I've learned so much about football from those two guys."

The tutelage that Johnson received from Franchione and Sherman has paid dividends as he had a breakout junior campaign, completing 59 percent of his passes for 3,579 yards, 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions. As good as Johnson was in 2009, there are alarming flaws in his game, and the one word that continues to surface when mentioning Johnson's name is "mechanics."

"He looks good one minute and bad the next minute, but when he looks good, I still cringe when he throws the ball," a longtime NFL scout said. "Johnson reminds me of two players -- Vince Young and Tim Tebow. He has the athleticism and body of Young, although he's not as elusive as Young was at Texas. He also has the same low delivery and erratic arm angle that Young possesses. As far as Tebow, I have the same question mark about Johnson as I had with him. Can he correct his throwing motion, and if he does, will muscle memory play a part in him reverting back to his old release?"

That's the question and only Johnson has the answer.

"It's not a big issue for me, but at the same time I realize I can get better," Johnson said. "I never really had a quarterback coach in high school, but I've been working with Kevin Murray, who played at A&M he's been training quarterbacks in Dallas. We've been working on fundamentals. I have the physical talent to make all the throws, but brushing up on my release and footwork is something I know I have to do. I may be a little behind on my mechanics, but I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of catching up."

Entering the 2010 season, Johnson is currently NFLDraftScout.com's No. 5-rated senior quarterback and is projected to be a fourth-round selection next April. The four QBs ahead of Johnson in the rankings are Washington's Jake Locker, Florida State's Christian Ponder, Delaware's Pat Devlin and Idaho's Nathan Enderle.

Johnson doesn't worry much about where he ranks among the other quarterbacks in the nation, because he knows that if he can lead A&M to a top BCS game and continue his progression, next year will take care of itself.

"I can only worry about the things I can control," he said. "There are a lot of things that I can do physically, and what will separate me with scouts -- when the time comes -- is my understanding of how to beat defenses. Working with Coach Sherman and the freedom I'm allowed to have has been huge for me in my growth. And I think that -- along with my preparation in the film and meeting rooms -- puts me ahead of them all."

Chris Steuber is a Draft Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange. Email Chris at csteuber@nfldraftscout.com; follow him on Twitter @ChrisSteuber.