EXCLUSIVE: Spartans 2025 Target Brennan Johnson Discusses How Position Change Has Affected Recruitment

"Three-star linebacker Brennan Johnson" is now an inaccurate phrase. Johnson spoke with Spartan Nation about the effect it has had on his recruitment -- as of now and for the future.

Oct 12, 2019; Madison, WI, USA; Michigan State Spartans logo on footballs during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Highland Springs' Brennan Johnson is a three-star recruit, per 247Sports, but his listed position of linebacker is now outdated.

Johnson played linebacker his entire high school career -- until this season. Johnson will be switching to defensive back -- same as his coach and father, Loren, who played at Virginia Tech in the mid-to-late 1990s, and his brother, Braylon, who is currently at VT. The switch has caused a bit of a stir in Johnson's recruitment.

"So far in my recruiting process, there has been ups and downs at times I would say," Johnson told Spartan Nation. "Early in my process I was getting recruited to play the linebacker position. More recenlty I've been recruited to play defensive back -- whether that be nickel or safety. Just because of how my body has turned out. I am about 200-pound right now, so early in the process I think I was around maybe like 170 as a ninth grader, so schools were hoping I hit that growth spurt and put on a whole bunch of weight. But that's not how it ended up, so now I've gotten to the process where I'm going to be going into my senior year ... I'll be playing safety and nickel. And these past three years I have been playing linebacker, so since schools have only seen my as linebacker -- I wouldn't say its slowed down a little bit, but schools need practice tape, they need individual things so they can start recruiting me and stuff like that. So basically I'll be getting recruiting at safety and nickel."

Right now, Johnson said he does not have any top schools, despite 247Sports displaying his interest in Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Maryland. Johnson said his transition to defensive back has shifted the time table for his decision -- and which schools are in the running.

"A lot of schools are seeing me as a safety body, so I might get into the season through my first three games and I might just skyrocket," Johnson said. "A coach came in and told me that -- 'You're gonna skyrocket after your first three games because you can actually show these people that you're playing safety. Because a lot of coaches come in and they're very hesitant -- because all my high school film is linebacker film."

Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.

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