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Published Apr 13, 2017
Johnson talks Florida visit and more
Mark Wheeler  •  1standTenFlorida
Publisher

On Friday, once again, Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian five-star safety Tyreke Johnson unofficially visited the University of Florida.

With Gainesville being so close to Jacksonville proximity wise, it should come as no surprise that Florida has received multiple visits from the Rivals100 member, more so than any other program.

However, Johnson cautions not to read too much into that.

“I wanted to go down there to see the game and hang out with Chauncy [Gardner],” explained Johnson. “They've already opened my eyes to how good they are at producing defensive backs, now I see that there is an opportunity for early playing time if I go in there and work hard.”

There for awhile mostly out-of-state schools seemed to be in the running for Johnson. Florida was the only in-state program being mentioned. Then, Florida Atlantic entered the picture and all of a sudden, believe it or not, the Owls became legitimate contenders.

“I said last year that I was going to look at whoever signed my brother [former Florida State and East Mississippi quarterback De'Andre Johnson],” stated Johnson. “It [FAU] is more than I expected. The coaches, the weather, the campus. It's a great school.”

Last month at the adidas 7v7 National Championships Johnson shied away from naming leaders, but, "stuck to his list of favorites that includes Florida, Georgia, LSU and UCLA."

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RELATED: Johnson breaks down top schools

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That was then, this is now.

Regardless of what Johnson says about Florida, or Florida Atlantic or UCLA or Southern Cal or any one of a half a dozen other schools he has been linked to in the past several months, one thing you won't get from him today is a pecking order.

For his part, Johnson said he is steering clear of naming favorites.

“There's no one team on top,” Johnson replied when asked about a leaderboard. “I don't have a leader or leaders. I'm not even worried about that yet. I'm concentrating on getting back and winning a state championship with my team. I want to work on being a better leader and a better player for my team. After that I'll look at recruiting.”

Six weeks ago, Rivals Florida recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy predicted that Florida would end up landing the First Coast phenom.

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RELATED: Five Sunshine State predictions for the 2018 recruiting cycle

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Whether or not it plays out that way is yet to be determined.

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Join us in the Alley for The Skinny on where Florida currently stands with this major five-star target. Get The Inside Scoop by clicking HERE

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