Georgia Tech Recruiting: QB Lucas Johnson Flips to Georgia Tech, is Commitment #17

The Jackets have reached all the way out to the west coast to search for their Quarterback of the future, and they found him in San Diego native Lucas Johnson. The former San Diego State commit flipped to Georgia Tech after visiting both schools. Johnson will join a rapidly growing Georgia Tech recruiting class, becoming the 17th commit for 2016.

Johnson has been overlooked by many schools and recruiting and services during his recruitment. Originally rated as a 2-star recruit by Rivals, Johnson was recently upgraded to a 3-star after a strong senior year resulted in interest from Georgia Tech. He still lacks a long list of offers, as other schools still have not discovered the California product.

Johnson announced his decision via Twitter with this twitter post:

I am proud to announce that I will be continuing my football career at Georgia Tech! #YellowJackets #ACC #LGI pic.twitter.com/kSbUbUfJBJ

— Dr. Johnson (@lucasj_7) January 26, 2016

Analysis

Johnson's tape is quite impressive. As a passer, he is by far the most developed quarterback prospect that Georgia Tech has landed during Paul Johnson's tenure as head coach. It is easy to tell that he was well coached in high school, and should be able to bring his passing to the next level with success. Johnson's ball placement ability is stellar, and is something that will open up the offense for Georgia Tech. On a variety of throws, he can place the ball where only his receiver can get it, which is a highly coveted skill in a system that sees a good amount of man coverage. His back-shoulder passes are a thing of beauty, and his throws to the end zone will be unfair when he gets to work with Georgia Tech's tall receivers.

He can also make a variety of throws. He can drive the ball down field, throw touch passes, or throw darts on fast-developing routes. The way he can change up his release velocity to match the type of throw he is making is something special for a high school player.

As a runner, Johnson shows all the necessary physical abilities required in order to be dangerous in Paul Johnson's spread option attack. He's not Justin Thomas with the ball in his hands, but he can get the job done. He's slippery, and it is tough to wrap him up. He also uses his blocks extremely well and is a patient runner, which is something else that is good to see for a high school prospect.

I would have liked to have seen some more option reads in his game, as not every prospect that comes to Georgia Tech has the ability to learn all the reads necessary to excel as a quarterback. His high school offense was more pass happy than Georgia Tech's, so that will be an adjustment for him.

Overall, this is an exciting and intriguing prospect that could change the flow the offense for Georgia Tech. Let's welcome him to the flats!