2021 Miami Recruiting Profile: Tyler Johnson

As early signing day is now just weeks away, I want to give Canes fans an in-depth look at the players committed to Miami for this 2021 class.

Last week I started these profile pieces with Deshawn Troutman, so moving on down the list for linebackers, the next Canes commit I’m talking about today is Tyler Johnson out of Miami Killian High School.

In case you didn’t know, Tyler is the younger brother of former UM standout, safety Jaquan Johnson, and there couldn’t be a better older brother to look up to than Jaquan.

247 Sports has Johnson listed as a 4-star prospect, #20 outside linebacker in the 2021 class, and #41 overall player in the state of Florida.

Johnson verbally committed to Miami in the summer of 2019, and has stuck with his hometown Hurricanes ever since.

To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t know much about Johnson, except who his older brother is, up until recently. Perhaps that had to do that he’s been committed to Miami for over a year now, and didn’t receive the kind of publicity that a recruit like Leonard Taylor or James Williams did. But after watching his tape and studying his game, I think he could go down as one of the biggest steals of this 2021 class for Miami.

Playing for South Dade as a junior in 2019, Johnson registered 36 tackles, 4 sacks and an interception, and was recognized as first-team by the Miami Herald. Labeled as a linebacker, Johnson played mostly as a stand-up rusher.

However, in May, Johnson announced that he’d be transferring schools for his senior season, switching to Killian.

When watching film on Johnson, it’s pretty clear that he excels coming off the edge as a pass-rusher. He has a very explosive first step, and his instincts allow him to time to the snap incredibly well. Instincts is perhaps the quality that Jaquan and Tyler have the most in common on the football field.

He’s a natural at blitzing the quarterback, and while he’s more on the thin side for a linebacker/edge-rusher (200 pounds on 247 Sports), Johnson possesses exceptional power to go along with his speed.

Speed and quickness is definitely a trend in the 2021 Miami linebackers. When you look at Johnson and Troutman, you can tell Manny Diaz wants faster players at that position.

When defending the run, Johnson has proven that he’s a sound tackler, and it’s very rare to see him get hooked or have the opposing offense run outside on him.

Johnson is projected to be a linebacker when he gets to Miami, so the biggest thing for Tyler is putting on the size necessary for a player at that position in big time college football. However, Johnson is the type of prospect that Miami will try and get up to perhaps 225 pounds, without him losing the speed that makes him such a threat on defense.

Similar to Troutman, Johnson is a player that will benefit greatly from David Feeley’s strength and conditioning program at Miami.

As far as player comparisons for Johnson, I’ve seen several say that he reminds people of current Miami linebacker Sam Brooks Jr. Brooks led Miami-Dade in sacks one season while playing for Northwestern High School, before switching to inside linebacker once he got to UM.

All in all, Johnson strikes me as a future starter on Miami’s defense, after a couple years of development with coach Feeley in the weight room. If everything goes to plan in that aspect, I think Tyler has all the tools to follow in his big brothers footsteps at Miami as a force on defense.