BREAKING | 2021 OL Caleb Johnson Commits To Notre Dame
Had recruiting – and just about everything else – not come to an abrupt halt back in March because of COVID-19, there’s a good chance Caleb Johnson would have committed to Notre Dame months ago.
But the 2021 Florida offensive lineman had to cancel a swing of visits that would have brought him back to South Bend for the first time since he was offered a scholarship by the Irish. A couple months later, he gave a verbal commitment to Auburn, the last school he visited before the shutdown.
But the Irish never gave up and that persistence has paid off as Johnson just announced he’s flipping his commitment from the Tigers to Notre Dame.
The 6-foot-7, 295-pounder gives the Irish five offensive linemen in the Class of 2021, joining Blake Fisher, Rocco Spindler, Pat Coogan and Joe Alt, and 23 overall pledges.
In addition to Auburn, Johnson also had offers from schools like Florida, Miami, Alabama, Duke, Ole Miss and Tennessee among several others.
Johnson lives in Ocala, Fla., now, but grew up in Fort Wayne and made multiple visits to South Bend over the years, giving him a strong sense of comfort with the environment even though he hasn’t been able to get back since being offered back in March.
“It’s a really nice area,” Johnson said.
At the time, Johnson told Irish Sports Daily receiving an offer from Notre Dame was a “surreal” experience.
He was last in South Bend for the Irish’s win over USC last year and was impressed with the program, atmosphere and facilities.
“It’s definitely really good,” he said.
Johnson said he just needed to build a relationship with the Notre Dame coaching staff. Offensive line coach Jeff Quinn and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees clearly made Johnson a priority and made him feel wanted by continuing to recruit him and explain why they felt he was such a good fit for Notre Dame and vice versa.
That culminated with a Zoom meeting on Thursday night and in the end, Johnson lands at the school he may have ended up at all along.
Film Don’t Lie | Caleb Johnson