Georgia now has No. 1 class with Jermaine Johnson’s pledge

Defensive end Jermaine Johnson of Independence (Kan.) Community College committed Thursday night to Georgia's 2019 recruiting class. Defensive end Jermaine Johnson of Independence (Kan.) Community College committed Thursday night to Georgia's 2019 recruiting class.

By David Paschall August 3, 2018 1 min read

Georgia received a football commitment from the nation’s top junior college prospect Thursday night when Independence (Kansas) Community College defensive end Jermaine Johnson gave the Bulldogs a nonbinding pledge.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Johnson, whose hometown is Eden Prairie, Minnesota, visited Athens last week. He took trips earlier this summer to Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Oregon and Colorado.

“1,000% COMMITTED. Go Dawgs,” Johnson posted on Twitter.

Last season at Independence, Johnson racked up 58 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

Johnson is the 17th commitment for Georgia’s 2019 class, which has surpassed Alabama for the top spot in the 247Sports.com team rankings. Georgia’s average commitment rating of 94.57 ranks No. 1 nationally as well, topping the Crimson Tide’s 93.08 average.

David Paschall

David Paschall has covered sports at the Chattanooga Times Free Press since 1999 and wrote for the Chattanooga Free Press in the nine years before that. David has mostly covered college athletics, with a focus on the University of Georgia from 2000 to 2019 and the University of Tennessee since 2020. He grew up in Chattanooga and is a graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received multiple writing awards and has served as a Heisman Trophy voter since 2003. He has also worked in radio in Chattanooga and has been on the SEC Network's "Classic Rewind" series since 2014. David and his wife, Kelly, have three children — Conner, Emily and Spencer.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.