OT Fredrick Johnson commits to Florida

By Adam Silverstein
January 31, 2015

The Florida Gators doubled up on offensive line commitments Saturday as three-star offensive tackle Fredrick Johnson (West Palm Beach, FL) ended his recruitment by making a verbal pledge to the program.

Johnson (6-foot-7, 301 pounds), a former Virginia Tech commit, took an unofficial visit to UF over the weekend and subsequently chose Florida over Miami, though he also had committable offers from Nebraska, Tennessee and VT. LSU and Penn State were among the late-arriving parties interested in his services.

“UF COMMIT!!!!! #THESWAMP #ChompChompx2,” Johnson wrote Saturday night on Twitter. He also thanked Gators junior left tackle Roderick Johnson for helping him through the process and “mak[ing] this decision easy.”

Having played only one year of varsity football, Johnson was seen as a diamond in the rough of sorts among analysts. His recruitment ramped up as coaches saw his production over the course of the 2014 season.

Johnson joins fellow in-state three-star prospect Richerd Desir-Jones (Fort Lauderdale, FL) in making his commitment Saturday. Desir-Jones is projected as an offensive guard.

Head coach Jim McElwain has stated often since taking over the program in early December that recruiting depth along the offensive line has been a top priority this cycle. Florida is only expected to have seven scholarship offensive linemen returning next season.

The Gators now have 12 prospects verbally committed for 2015 with that number expected to continue growing as National Signing Day approaches on Wednesday. All of Florida’s pledges are rated as three-star recruits, though one has a composite four-star rating.

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* Dillon is expected to flip from UF to LSU.