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Utah QB Commit Named CIF Central Section Athlete of the Year

Utah QB commit Nate Johnson continues to prove he's a 'diamond in the rough' prospect as he was just named the CIF Central Section Athlete of the Year after dominating on the gridiron and track this past year

Ryan Kostecka

The accolades just keep on rolling in for Nate Johnson.

First it started with an invitation to the prestigious Elite 11 Finals camp for the Utah commit, being named as one of the top 20 high school quarterbacks in the nation.

Then Johnson was able to finally gain that fourth star in 247's composite rankings, solidifying his status as one of the premier signal-callers in the country.

Lastly, Johnson was recently named the CIF Central Section Athlete of the Year after dominating on the gridiron and track this past year by SBLive.

Listed at 6-foot-1, 188 pounds, Johnson has the athleticism to shine as a runner but is significantly more than that. His throwing prowess was on full display last season as he threw for 1,000 yards and ran for over 300 yards on just five games of action. 

Johnson led Clovis HS to a 3-2 record on the season. Their only two losses came against Southern California powerhouse programs in Central and Buchanan, both of which came by a combined 11 points. 

A true dual-sport athlete in every sense of the word, Johnson not only shined on the gridiron, he took his talents to the track this past spring and walked away as the CIF Central Section 100-meter and long jump champion. His PR of 10.52 in the 100-meter dash would rank him the third fastest high school quarterback of all-time, according to Tracking Football.

Johnson has seen his recruitment skyrocket throughout the spring and summer, first dominating in high school play before an extremely impressive showing at the Elite 11 Regionals competition. The Utes were able to fend off primary contender Michigan and a late offer from hometown program UCLA to nab Johnson. The highly-touted prospect also had offers from Arizona State, Oregon State and TCU.

Johnson 2
Nate Johnson, Day 2 of Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles, Calif

Johnson's performance at the Elite 11 Finals was very indicative of where he stands as a quarterback right now. With only a half season under his belt as a starter, there are some inconsistencies and flaws within his game that will need to be refined — but when it came to natural talent and ability, Johnson was shining with the best of them.

Here's a breakdown by SI All-American's John Garcia Jr. of Johnson's three days of competition at the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles.

Day One
Johnson has good mobility in the pocket and excels at throwing on the run. With that said, he just didn’t have the same zip on the ball that a lot of these other quarterbacks did, which resulted in under-throwing some balls, including in the rail shot event that closed out the first day. He’s a great athlete at the quarterback position, and more consistency at the second level could help him bounce back.

Position: 20th out of 20

Day Two
The Utah-bound dual-threat showed good arm strength and was one of the quickest quarterbacks in the lot. In an event where mistakes are few, yet flash bright, Johnson had a hit-and-miss session. He missed a couple of slants and a roll-out crossing route to his dominant side, but threw a couple of deep dimes including the first 7-cut after three throws to running backs.

Position: 15th out of 20

Day ThreeIf we scored utilizing the best balls of the workout, Johnson would rank near the top of the list. He was boom or bust Friday with stark contrasts in accuracy between starting hot and getting the staff excited and missing the RPO shot high on multiple occasions in a row. Utah has one of the most intriguing signal-callers headed to campus and the ceiling for the decisive and twitchy talent is there.

Position: 15th out of 20

Nate Johnson
Nate Johnson

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