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Q&A: Two-Sport Athlete Tyler Johnson Hearing from Gophers in Football and Basketball
Q&A: Two-Sport Athlete Tyler Johnson Hearing from Gophers in Football and Basketball
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/479342?referrer_id=
Tyler Johnson, a 6-foot-2 junior from Minneapolis (MN) North, is one of the state's top two-sport athletes. He recently landed a scholarship offers from Iowa and Minnesota in football and North Dakota State for basketball.
Johnson led Minneapolis North to a 12-1 record on the gridiron, losing to Dawson-Boyd in the Class A semifinals. He led the team in rushing and passing.
Johnson is averaging 16.9 points per game as the Polars are off to a 17-5 start on the hardwood. He has scored in double figures in 20 of 22 games and has eight games of twenty or more points. Johnson recently passed the 1,000 point mark for his career.
Johnson averaged 19.6 points per game as a sophomore as he helped lead the Polars to a 19-11 mark, losing to Marantha 67-65 in the Section 4A finals. He scored in double figures in 29 of 30 games with 13 games of twenty or more points, including a season-best 33 points versus Minneapolis Southwest.
Johnson attended the Minnesota home basketball games versus Illinois and Penn State last season.
Gopher Hole recently caught up Johnson to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: You picked up offers from Minnesota and Iowa in the same week. What was that experience like hearing from those two schools?
Tyler Johnson: There was a lot of excitement. I wasn't really planning on picking up the offers at the offers because we just came out of the football season, off of a good run. I was kind of excited.
Gopher Hole: Had you been hearing a lot from Minnesota and Iowa throughout the year?
Tyler Johnson: Yes. I have been hearing a lot. They have been sending me a lot of mail. I meet the coaches after I got offered, but they were already DM'ing me on Twitter.
Gopher Hole: Did you have a chance to go to many college football games this past fall?
Tyler Johnson: I went to a few Gopher games, but not many. I went to about three.
Gopher Hole: Getting those two Big Ten offers from high caliber schools, does that make you want to work even harder to hear from even more schools?
Tyler Johnson: Yes, it makes me want to work a lot harder because I already have two good schools that have offered me and if I work, I could hearing from the SEC or something.
Gopher Hole: What other schools are you hearing from in football besides Minnesota and Iowa?
Tyler Johnson: Recently, a few coaches came up to the school. Eastern Michigan is supposed to be coming up after the break. Oregon has come up. Northwestern also came up, so it has been a few schools
Gopher Hole: I think in basketball, you have picked up one offer from North Dakota State, right?
Tyler Johnson: Yes.
Gopher Hole: Any other schools you are hearing from in hoops?
Tyler Johnson: In basketball, it has been awhile. The "U" has been in there.
Gopher Hole: You probably get asked this a lot, but have you thought, because you are eventually going to have to choose, basketball or football?
Tyler Johnson: I try not to think about it right now. I am still just going hard in both of them and I'll make a decision later.
Gopher Hole: You have good opportunities in both sports, so you really can't go right either way?
Tyler Johnson: Right.
Gopher Hole: You have a very talented, but young North team. What are the expectations for North this year in basketball?
Tyler Johnson: Our expectations are that we want to win. We came off a rough weekend, but we want to come out of this and have a bang and try to win state.
Gopher Hole: You are a Class A school, but have played some 4A good schools. Does that show you some things that you need to work on and get battle-tested for in the playoffs?
Tyler Johnson: Yes. It shows us a lot. The 4A teams that we played, play physical and they are passing the ball a lot. If we want to win state, those are going to be the same type of teams that we are going to have to beat.
Gopher Hole: In football, you had a great year, going undefeated before losing in the playoffs. Do you return a lot of your starters next year or did you lose some seniors?
Tyler Johnson: We lost a few seniors. We lost one who was a conference MVP and we lost an All-Conference linebacker, but we have a lot of returning players that will be seniors next year. We just want to go out and win state.
Gopher Hole: There was some talk about North closing the school and they hadn't been as good as they had been in the past. Was that something that you took a lot of pride in having such a great year and it seemed like the community really rallied around the team?
Tyler Johnson: That was a big statement this year, because like you said, everyone said that we were close down and to come out and make a state run was very shocking. We had a lot of people in the community that were there for us.
Gopher Hole: Before, you didn't have the offers, but now, you have offers to play in both sports. What would it mean to play Division I sports?
Tyler Johnson: It would mean a lot. I'd be the first in my family to go and play a Division I sport. I would just have something to be proud of.
Gopher Hole: You are wearing a Minnesota hat. What would it mean to have the chance to play for the hometown school?
Tyler Johnson: The home state school. I would have a lot of pride in myself. That would be pretty good and I'd have a lot of people there for me because I know a lot of people want to see me stay home.
Q&A: Two-Sport Athlete Tyler Johnson Hearing from Gophers in Football and Basketball
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/479342?referrer_id=
Tyler Johnson, a 6-foot-2 junior from Minneapolis (MN) North, is one of the state's top two-sport athletes. He recently landed a scholarship offers from Iowa and Minnesota in football and North Dakota State for basketball.
Johnson led Minneapolis North to a 12-1 record on the gridiron, losing to Dawson-Boyd in the Class A semifinals. He led the team in rushing and passing.
Johnson is averaging 16.9 points per game as the Polars are off to a 17-5 start on the hardwood. He has scored in double figures in 20 of 22 games and has eight games of twenty or more points. Johnson recently passed the 1,000 point mark for his career.
Johnson averaged 19.6 points per game as a sophomore as he helped lead the Polars to a 19-11 mark, losing to Marantha 67-65 in the Section 4A finals. He scored in double figures in 29 of 30 games with 13 games of twenty or more points, including a season-best 33 points versus Minneapolis Southwest.
Johnson attended the Minnesota home basketball games versus Illinois and Penn State last season.
Gopher Hole recently caught up Johnson to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: You picked up offers from Minnesota and Iowa in the same week. What was that experience like hearing from those two schools?
Tyler Johnson: There was a lot of excitement. I wasn't really planning on picking up the offers at the offers because we just came out of the football season, off of a good run. I was kind of excited.
Gopher Hole: Had you been hearing a lot from Minnesota and Iowa throughout the year?
Tyler Johnson: Yes. I have been hearing a lot. They have been sending me a lot of mail. I meet the coaches after I got offered, but they were already DM'ing me on Twitter.
Gopher Hole: Did you have a chance to go to many college football games this past fall?
Tyler Johnson: I went to a few Gopher games, but not many. I went to about three.
Gopher Hole: Getting those two Big Ten offers from high caliber schools, does that make you want to work even harder to hear from even more schools?
Tyler Johnson: Yes, it makes me want to work a lot harder because I already have two good schools that have offered me and if I work, I could hearing from the SEC or something.
Gopher Hole: What other schools are you hearing from in football besides Minnesota and Iowa?
Tyler Johnson: Recently, a few coaches came up to the school. Eastern Michigan is supposed to be coming up after the break. Oregon has come up. Northwestern also came up, so it has been a few schools
Gopher Hole: I think in basketball, you have picked up one offer from North Dakota State, right?
Tyler Johnson: Yes.
Gopher Hole: Any other schools you are hearing from in hoops?
Tyler Johnson: In basketball, it has been awhile. The "U" has been in there.
Gopher Hole: You probably get asked this a lot, but have you thought, because you are eventually going to have to choose, basketball or football?
Tyler Johnson: I try not to think about it right now. I am still just going hard in both of them and I'll make a decision later.
Gopher Hole: You have good opportunities in both sports, so you really can't go right either way?
Tyler Johnson: Right.
Gopher Hole: You have a very talented, but young North team. What are the expectations for North this year in basketball?
Tyler Johnson: Our expectations are that we want to win. We came off a rough weekend, but we want to come out of this and have a bang and try to win state.
Gopher Hole: You are a Class A school, but have played some 4A good schools. Does that show you some things that you need to work on and get battle-tested for in the playoffs?
Tyler Johnson: Yes. It shows us a lot. The 4A teams that we played, play physical and they are passing the ball a lot. If we want to win state, those are going to be the same type of teams that we are going to have to beat.
Gopher Hole: In football, you had a great year, going undefeated before losing in the playoffs. Do you return a lot of your starters next year or did you lose some seniors?
Tyler Johnson: We lost a few seniors. We lost one who was a conference MVP and we lost an All-Conference linebacker, but we have a lot of returning players that will be seniors next year. We just want to go out and win state.
Gopher Hole: There was some talk about North closing the school and they hadn't been as good as they had been in the past. Was that something that you took a lot of pride in having such a great year and it seemed like the community really rallied around the team?
Tyler Johnson: That was a big statement this year, because like you said, everyone said that we were close down and to come out and make a state run was very shocking. We had a lot of people in the community that were there for us.
Gopher Hole: Before, you didn't have the offers, but now, you have offers to play in both sports. What would it mean to play Division I sports?
Tyler Johnson: It would mean a lot. I'd be the first in my family to go and play a Division I sport. I would just have something to be proud of.
Gopher Hole: You are wearing a Minnesota hat. What would it mean to have the chance to play for the hometown school?
Tyler Johnson: The home state school. I would have a lot of pride in myself. That would be pretty good and I'd have a lot of people there for me because I know a lot of people want to see me stay home.