Gainesville High a recent factory for college players
Gainesville High football coach Bruce Miller shot his former quarterback Deshaun Watson a text message Sunday night. He tries to text his former players — not call them, nobody does that anymore — every week to discuss Saturday’s performances and the coming opponents on each guy’s schedule.
Miller’s message to Watson was one of praise. Although Clemson lost to No. 1 Florida State 23-17 in overtime, the freshman quarterback completed 19 of 28 passes and threw for 266 yards after coach Dabo Swinney chose to bench Cole Stoudt near the end of the first quarter. Watson proved himself worthy of the starting job, and Swinney awarded him with it Sunday.
A.J. Johnson should expect a text message from Miller this week, too. The Tennessee linebacker returns to his home state Saturday to play No. 12 Georgia.
Johnson never received an offer from Georgia as a four-star recruit, as rated by ESPN. The Bulldogs signed the likes of Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson to their 2011 recruiting class instead. Miller said Georgia talked to Johnson during the recruiting process, but when the Bulldogs chose not to extend an offer his way, Johnson was not left heartbroken.
“I know (Georgia coach) Mark Richt, and I know how he operates,” Miller said. “He’s a good Christian person, and I think he just doesn’t want to make an offer to a kid and then have to take it back.”
Schools such as Alabama and Florida offered Johnson, according to Rivals.com. Even Georgia defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, then with Auburn, recruited him.
Johnson went on to lead the SEC in total tackles as a sophomore at Tennessee, with 138. He is 0-3 against the Bulldogs, but looks forward to playing them every year, according to Miller.
Heading into Saturday’s game, the senior leads the Volunteers’ defense with 29 total tackles in their first three games, tied for fourth-most in the conference.
There was something in the water bottles passed around during Gainesville High’s football practices the past few years. The high school located 40 miles northwest of Athens produced Watson, Johnson, Alabama quarterback Blake Sims and Arkansas backup linebacker Deshaun Carr since 2010.
Although Georgia passed on Johnson and Carr, it heavily pursued Watson and Sims. Both quarterbacks chose to play out of state.
“I don’t see how,” Miller said of the notion that a Georgia native would venture beyond state lines. “I really don’t. If I was a kid growing up in this state, my first choice would probably be to go to the University of Georgia.”
The Bulldogs have no Gainesville High alumni on their roster.
“Personally for me, I just want the kids to go where they’ll be happy at and where they’ll finish school and hopefully get a four-year college education,” Miller said. “And I tell them, ‘It’s got to be a fit for you.’”
Tennessee has been the perfect fit for Johnson over the past three seasons, and he has thrived because of it. When Miller texts him this week, he expects Johnson to be full of excitement, both to play in front of his friends and family still living in Georgia and to face an always-challenging Bulldogs offense.
Although Johnson always looks forward to facing Georgia, Miller said the linebacker wants to beat every opponent he faces.
“He wants to beat you at checkers,” Miller joked. “He loves to win.”
Gainesville High alums are 0-1 against their in-state powerhouse, but that could change Saturday. By the end of the season, Watson, Johnson and Carr all will have played against Georgia. Depending how the next two months play out, Sims may get a shot at the Bulldogs, too.
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