Douglas County's James Johnson becomes fifth player from Georgia to join USC's 2025 class.

Douglas County's James Johnson has made the decision to head west to Los Angeles to play his college football for the USC Trojans. Johnson chose the Trojans over a final five of Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, and UCF. Johnson is quickly rising up the recruiting ranks, going from unranked before his commitment to now being inside the top 1000 players in the country, according to 247Sports, and is expected to continue to rise.


1,000% committed #FightOn pic.twitter.com/o9GDwVlKjr
James Johnson (@JamesJohnsonDc) August 30, 2024

Johnson is coming off a big junior season, where he had 672 receiving yards with seven touchdowns. In addition to his receiving stats, he had 483 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, helping the Tigers to a 13-1 record and their best season since the team's 1964 state championship. This year, the Tigers are once again one of the top teams in 6A and are expected to make a run at the state title. The Tigers have already dominated their first three games, outscoring their opponents 125-30.

He is heading to LA to play for Lincoln Riley. Rileys offenses have been some of the best in the country, with the Trojans scoring more than 40 points per game in each of his first two seasons. Johnson is joining four other Georgia players heading out west, including Carrollton quarterback Julian Lewis, who is a consensus top 50 player in the country and a 5-star recruit on most recruiting websites.

As a player, Johnson is a speedy receiver who will be best utilized playing out of the slot at the next level. He will fill a similar role to what he is playing this year at Douglas County beside elite wide receivers Aaron Gregory and Devin Carter, taking advantage of matchups against slot corners, safeties, and linebackers. Johnson shows the ability to run a deep route tree and can effectively turn screens and drag routes into big plays, using his athleticism to create easy yards after the catch.