6/3/2024 football Edit

Trinity's Zane Johnson is a QB to watch in 2027

Johnson (left) visiting Kentucky earlier this year

Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated

Publisher

Justin Rowland has been CatsIllustrated.com's publisher since 2015. He covered college football recruiting at programs nationwide for 15 years prior to that.

Zane Johnson's name has been making the rounds in sports media for a while now, and he's still only just now going into his second year of high school.

His successful stint with the Louisville Chargers got his name out there. He also played with Kentucky Future Stars, getting his name out there even more, and then there was his freshman year at Trinity.

Trinity started the year just 2-3 but they upset St. Xavier in the sixth game of the season, "when our whole team clicked," Johnson said. And from that point forward they won ten straight games and a state championship, with Johnson as a freshman behind center.

"That game against St. X and that's when we clicked. Everybody just really locked in that week. We wanted the bragging rights of that win and they were projected to beat us. We went out and beat them 45-10 so that's when we realized we've actually got a chance to do this. Everybody started playing well after that."

Johnson camped at Kentucky on Sunday, the first day of camp season, and had an opportunity to work with new OC Bush Hamdan.

"I did pretty good," Johnson said. "In the first set of one-on-ones I was kind of off and then in the second set I went with the older group and did pretty good. I talked to Coach Hamdan a little bit. He was cool. I also talked to a GA that was cool. I could just tell Coach Hamdan knows a lot about the quarterback position and it was a cool thing to get to do.

"I've been to a couple of UK games. I went to a game when the old OC, Liam Coen, was there. I talked to him a little bit and went to a spring practice this year and met Coach Hamdan. I really liked him when I met him and so I came back for camp (on Sunday)."

The 6'0, 198-pound quarterback prospect will also visit Louisville, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Marshall, and Purdue this summer.

So how would Johnson break down his game as a quarterback?

"What I think I do well is reading defenses and knowing the game. I know to throw my receivers out of the break and what's going to work in certain coverages, and then there's just the dog that's in me. I have a dog mentality of trying to win every game, trying to win every rep. I think that's what's going to stand out to coaches. I still think I have an inch or two left to grow."