Tyron

Billy-Johnson

Hat tip to Draft Analyst’s Tony Pauline on the time. Pauline passes along that several stopwatches actually had Johnson running in the 4.3’s. While he was a player who impressed the analyst during Big 12 film study, it’s going to be an uphill climb to land in the draft proper next month.

A bit of a surprise. The 6-foot-1, 193-pound wideout had a solid season for the Cowboys with 53 catches for 845 yards and six scores, and came on strong at the end of the year; including a 7-141-1 against Missouri in the Liberty Bowl victory. Johnson has been a vertical threat, and it’s possible that he’ll test well enough to be a Day 2 pick. There was not a lot of NFL buzz around him, however, so it’s difficult to say where his stock is right now. We’ll be curious to see.

Johnson (6'1/193) has been a vertical threat for the Cowboys ever since transferring from LSU in 2015. Today was no different, and the game brought his season output to 53-845-6, which are all career highs. Oklahoma State’s offense will continue to feature vertical weapons like Johnson, but quarterback Taylor Cornelius will be gone in 2019. Expect Johnson to be a second or third option in the passing game with potential first-round wide receiver Tylan Wallace running as the No. 1.

To give you a feel for the offense that Oklahoma State was putting up on Saturday, Johnson posted 128 yards receiving and still ended up 92 yards short of the team lead (Tylan Wallace went for 220 yards). This season, the junior wideout has posted a 40-614-4 receiving line in 10 games. West Virginia shows next on Oklahoma State’s schedule.

Johnson is a one-trick pony who hadn’t been able to show off his speed merchant trick much this season entering play today (10-206-0). He grabbed his first two TD grabs of the year against the Jayhawks, including a beautiful 64-yard scoring strike from Taylor Cornelius over the top. Johnson won’t get the most touches going forward, but he’s always a threat to hit a home run on a deep shot whenever he’s on the field.

Johnson’s father said that his son was looking to transfer to a program with a more wide-open offense than LSU’s. Oklahoma State fits that bill well enough. “I really like their staff and their offense is exactly what I was looking for,” said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound wideout. “They were the school I initially thought of when I decided that transferring was the best option for me and I’m glad everything worked out.” Johnson ranked as ESPN’s No. 3 receiver for the 2015 cycle.

“He wanted to go to a more wide open offense. That was the only reason why [he decided to transfer],” said Tyrone Johnson. Ouch. Of course, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder probably should have known that a “wide open offense” and “LSU” are oil and water. The elder Johnson noted that while his son has been barred from transferring to another SEC school, the former five-star recruit might just head to a junior college program for a year before reentering the SEC to wreck havoc.

Johnson took to Twitter to announce that he had been released from his scholarship and is now free to move on to destinations unknown. While the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder caught just nine passes as a true freshman, that low mark is not indicative of his talent. Rivals graded him as a five-star recruit and the No. 11 overall player in the 2015 class. He has drawn comparisons to Odell Beckham Jr for his athletic ability. Whatever program ends up landing him still has plenty of developmental upside to work with here and it would not be a surprise if Johnson resurfaced in loud fashion come the 2017 season, assuming he transfers to another FBS squad and has to sit out the coming campaign.

“He’s a guy that you want to get the ball in space and he’s probably the best we have right now as far as making you miss with the defense in front of you,” Rudolph said. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder is an LSU transfer who ranked as ESPN’s No. 3 receiver in the 2015 cycle. “So far, whenever the lights come on and we keep score, he makes plays,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “In most team sports, there’s something to be said about that.” A five-star recruit out of high school, Johnson joins one of the elite receiving corps in college football, headlined by Rd. 1 candidate senior James Washington and filled out by slot maven Jalen McCleskey, lengthy senior Chris Lacy and experienced starter Marcell Ateman.

According to Mark Cooper of the Tulsa World, OSU HC Mike Gundy will address the issue after the game. Johnson has been used as a secondary option thus far, posting a 5-87-1 line in the early going.