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There was a lot of buzz surrounding the Toledo football team on Wednesday night, which could only mean one thing: recruiting news. The Toledo coaching staff seemed to be on a Twitter rampage and while they didn't mention anyone's name, everyone knew they had gotten a verbal commitment from a big name.
That big name turned out to be JonVea' Johnson, a 5'11, 175 lb. wide out from Gary, Indiana. Allen Trieu of Scout.com first broke the news on Twitter, but it has since been confirmed by the likes of 247Sports, and Rivals.
A 3-star recruit according to 247Sports composite rankings, some call Johnson "the next Alonzo Russell." Obviously, Russell isn't among the all-time Toledo greats...yet, but if you ask the Toledo coaching staff, or any fan for that matter, I'm sure they will have no problem with having two Alonzo Russell's on the field at one time.
Johnson's recruitment has been heating up for a few months now, ever since Toledo and Cincinnati started battling for the highly sought after wide receiver. However, the Bearcats seemed to have backed off slightly recently which left the door open for the Rockets to snatch him up. Johnson's top three prior to committing were Central Michigan, Ball State and Toledo. However, he had several offers from other schools as well, such as Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, and Illinois State. Aside from those schools, Johnson was also hearing regularly from Big Ten programs, Indiana and Purdue, though he was never officially offered.
The sky is the limit for Johnson, who has a high motor and enjoys playing in the slot. Though he liked Central Michigan, Johnson didn't care for the pro-style offense and didn't care for not being able to play much in the slot, which is where Toledo wanted him. Toledo continues to snatch up the players who were high on their recruiting boards and don't look for that to change with two weeks left before signing day.
