Q&A with Belle Vernon's Dorian Johnson, PSU recruit
Q&A with Belle Vernon's Dorian Johnson, PSU recruit
Who: Dorian Johnson
Team: Belle Vernon Leopards
Why: Johnson is one of the best offensive line recruits in the nation. He has committed to play at Penn State
Taken from 247sports.com
Let's get to know Dorian!
Who has had the biggest influence on your athletic career?
I'd have to say the biggest influence on my athletic career was my grandfather. I remember I started playing pop-warner football when I was 5 and after a couple months I wanted to quit but he made me stick with it.
Penn State obviously did a great job recruiting you since you are one of the top players in the entire nation. What sold you on being a Nittany Lion?
I was very impressed with the quality of the degree that I would be getting at PSU, my family loves it, I'm comfortable with the coaches and other commits and it's close to home.
If you could have a sports dream come true...what would that one dream be?
If I could have one sports dream come true at this point in my life it would actually be to win a WPIAL championship.
Tell us about a coach or maybe a teacher who has really had a big impact on you.
A couple of coaches, my head coach Aaron Krepps, my o-line coach from a few years ago Erik Gill, and my head coach from midget league Dave Churby.
When you first came up to the varsity level, did you ever imagine having the kind of success you've had?
I've always dreamed of playing college football at a big time school but it didn't really seem realistic to me until the end of my sophomore year, I moved up to play high school my freshman year and I was the only freshman on the team so it was a rough year for me getting used to how things go and going against people my size and bigger.
You get to spend a few hours with any celebrity for dinner. Who is it and why?
If I could spend a few hours with any celebrity for dinner it would definitely be 50 Cent. Music aside I think that he is a great role model. He came from absolutely nothing and built himself up to the top with hard work and was motivated to be great and look at him now he's one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the industry.
What is the best piece of advice you could give to an up and coming recruit?
Have fun with the process, don't let it get to you;the process can actually be really fun if you approach it the right way. You meet a ton of great people from all over the country and also just be patient with it. I know that personally I was only sitting on one offer for the longest and I kinda figured that no other schools were interested but it takes time to actually get your name out to some of these coaches and it seems like once your in with a few schools more will come pouring in quickly.
What is the best thing about playing football at Belle Vernon?
The best thing about playing football here at Belle Vernon is that we have tons of talent every year. We just need to all get on the same page and I think that once that happens BVA is going to be a very dominate squad for years. On top of that the entire coaching staff is young and has experience playing college ball.
If you could guest star on any television program what would it be?
I don't really watch too much TV.
Favorite flavor of Gatorade?
I like to keep it simple...Fruit Punch
What is something that most people don't know about Dorian Johnson?
Haha when I'm bored and have nothing else to do I write raps on my phone. I think I've written around 125 raps in the last 3 years. I haven't finished any of them though. I'm not that good I just do it to pass time.
What is your favorite rivalry?
Being from Pittsburgh my favorite rivalry has to be Pittsburgh Vs. Baltimore.
BleacherCoaches.com is the home of Pennsylvania high school sports on the web. Check out the rest of the forums and welcome to the BleacherCoaches family!
Team: Belle Vernon Leopards
Why: Johnson is one of the best offensive line recruits in the nation. He has committed to play at Penn State
Taken from 247sports.com
Let's get to know Dorian!
Who has had the biggest influence on your athletic career?
I'd have to say the biggest influence on my athletic career was my grandfather. I remember I started playing pop-warner football when I was 5 and after a couple months I wanted to quit but he made me stick with it.
Penn State obviously did a great job recruiting you since you are one of the top players in the entire nation. What sold you on being a Nittany Lion?
I was very impressed with the quality of the degree that I would be getting at PSU, my family loves it, I'm comfortable with the coaches and other commits and it's close to home.
If you could have a sports dream come true...what would that one dream be?
If I could have one sports dream come true at this point in my life it would actually be to win a WPIAL championship.
Tell us about a coach or maybe a teacher who has really had a big impact on you.
A couple of coaches, my head coach Aaron Krepps, my o-line coach from a few years ago Erik Gill, and my head coach from midget league Dave Churby.
When you first came up to the varsity level, did you ever imagine having the kind of success you've had?
I've always dreamed of playing college football at a big time school but it didn't really seem realistic to me until the end of my sophomore year, I moved up to play high school my freshman year and I was the only freshman on the team so it was a rough year for me getting used to how things go and going against people my size and bigger.
You get to spend a few hours with any celebrity for dinner. Who is it and why?
If I could spend a few hours with any celebrity for dinner it would definitely be 50 Cent. Music aside I think that he is a great role model. He came from absolutely nothing and built himself up to the top with hard work and was motivated to be great and look at him now he's one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the industry.
What is the best piece of advice you could give to an up and coming recruit?
Have fun with the process, don't let it get to you;the process can actually be really fun if you approach it the right way. You meet a ton of great people from all over the country and also just be patient with it. I know that personally I was only sitting on one offer for the longest and I kinda figured that no other schools were interested but it takes time to actually get your name out to some of these coaches and it seems like once your in with a few schools more will come pouring in quickly.
What is the best thing about playing football at Belle Vernon?
The best thing about playing football here at Belle Vernon is that we have tons of talent every year. We just need to all get on the same page and I think that once that happens BVA is going to be a very dominate squad for years. On top of that the entire coaching staff is young and has experience playing college ball.
If you could guest star on any television program what would it be?
I don't really watch too much TV.
Favorite flavor of Gatorade?
I like to keep it simple...Fruit Punch
What is something that most people don't know about Dorian Johnson?
Haha when I'm bored and have nothing else to do I write raps on my phone. I think I've written around 125 raps in the last 3 years. I haven't finished any of them though. I'm not that good I just do it to pass time.
What is your favorite rivalry?
Being from Pittsburgh my favorite rivalry has to be Pittsburgh Vs. Baltimore.
BleacherCoaches.com is the home of Pennsylvania high school sports on the web. Check out the rest of the forums and welcome to the BleacherCoaches family!