Cats land former five-star QB Hunter Johnson
June 11 will be a Monday to remember for the Wildcats.
Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson, a former five-star prospect and the No. 2 quarterback in the nation in 2017, committed to Northwestern, the school announced. He will sit out the 2018 season per NCAA transfer rules and have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2019.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of the Wildcat family," Johnson said in a school statement. "The program that (head) coach (Pat) Fitzgerald and his staff have built at Northwestern is phenomenal, and one my family has had the opportunity to get to know and trust. I am thankful to (Clemson head) coach (Dabo) Swinney and the Clemson family for all their support over the past year-and-a-half. My focus now is on doing everything in my power to help this team prepare to compete for a Big Ten West title. Go 'Cats!"
The news of Johnson’s addition couldn’t have come at a better time for a Wildcat program searching for a successor to Clayton Thorson, who is heading into his fourth season as the starting quarterback.
Johnson took an official visit to Northwestern last Monday and Tuesday and was hosted by Thorson. Sources say he chose Northwestern over Purdue, Duke and Arkansas, among other programs.
Northwestern offered Johnson out of Brownsburg (Ind.) High School and he visited Evanston as a prospect. It helped that his older brother Cole Johnson, was a walkon special teams player for the Wildcats from 2013-16. But Johnson initially committed to Tennessee in August of 2015 before flipping to Clemson in December of that year.
Rivals ranked the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder as the No. 18 overall prospect in the country for the 2015 class.
Johnson played in seven games as a true freshman at Clemson last fall, completing 21-of-27 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns as one of two backup quarterbacks the Tigers employed behind starter Kelly Bryant (the other, Zerrick Cooper, also transferred).
Johnson was then beaten out this spring by true freshman Trevor Lawrence, yet another five-star quarterback who was the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in 2018. Lawrence’s impressive spring is likely what prompted Johnson to seek opportunities elsewhere.
The Wildcats’ succession plan at quarterback is now in place after Thorson graduates after the 2018 season. Thorson, who has started 39 straight games, tore his ACL in Northwestern’s 24-23 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl last December and had surgery in January. His status for the beginning of the 2018 season is unclear, but he is expected to return at some point for his final season in Evanston.
"We are ecstatic to add a player of Hunter's caliber and character to our program," said Fitzgerald in the same statement. "He comes from an outstanding family, one we've had the opportunity to know for many years, and he will fit right in to the culture we continue to build here in Evanston. I'm excited for the opportunity to be his coach and look forward to him joining our football family on campus this month."
Johnson is the second five-star prospect to join Fitzgerald’s program. The other one was also a transfer: wide receiver Kyle Prater, who played for Northwestern in 2013-14 after two years at USC.
Ironically, Northwestern just last week landed a verbal commitment from one of Johnson’s former teammates at Brownsburg. Three-star wide receiver Bryce Kirtz was one of Johnson’s targets when Johnson was a senior and Kirtz just a sophomore playing on the varsity team.