All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. Here’s a profile of second-year receiver Tyler Johnson.
Height: 6-feet
Weight: 195 pounds
Hometown: Martinsville, Virginia
Before Penn State: Johnson, who also played point guard for Magna Vista High School, was a football team captain twice and team MVP twice. In his senior season, Johnson caught 40 passes for 1,278 yards and 15 touchdowns.
By the time his high school career ended, Johnson was a four-star recruit according to ESPN and a three-star according to 247Sports, On3 and Rivals.
Johnson committed to Penn State last June and signed on early signing day last December.
2022: Johnson redshirted his first college football season.
Where he stands: Penn State’s receivers room has a different look coming into the 2023 season.
Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley are gone, and aside from projected WR1 KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who’s entering his fourth season with the program, nobody whose expected to get playing time at receiver for Penn State played on last year’s team.
Dante Cephas (Kent State transfer) and Malik McClain (Florida State) both have solid chances to start, so despite his experience, getting playing time won’t be easy for Johnson. Kaden Saunders is also entering his second season and is expected to be Penn State’s top slot receiver.
At 195 pounds, Johnson is 20 pounds bigger than he was coming into his freshman season, which is something that he should be able to use to his advantage.
A quote by Johnson: “I’m just trying to get there and put all the work in. I’m competing for a spot, so I’m gonna get up there, do everything I have to do and just work my tail off.” – Johnson in an interview with 247Sports shortly before enrolling at Penn State last summer.
A quote about Johnson: “He’s a great kid. He’s extremely talented and a pleasure to coach. He was a great leader for our team in terms of going out and being a hard-nosed football player. He’s very gifted. He brought a lot of positive attention to our program and our area. He showed our young guys that if you go out and work hard and represent yourself well, you can have the opportunity to go play at a great place like Penn State.”quote about Johnson: “He’s a great kid,” Magna Vista coach Joe Favero said. “He’s extremely talented and a pleasure to coach. He was a great leader for our team in terms of going out and being a hard-nosed football player. He’s very gifted. He brought a lot of positive attention to our program and our area. He showed our young guys that if you go out and work hard and represent yourself well, you can have the opportunity to go play at a great place like Penn State.” — Magna Vista Coach Joe Favero
