4-star safety Jordon Johnson-Rubell commits to Texas: 'It's a great feeling'

IMG Academy (Fla.) four-star safety Jordon Johnson-Rubell is originally from Texas. He spent the past few years in central Florida at powerhouse IMG Academy. But the Lone Star State was calling him home. On Saturday, he answered the call for the Texas Longhorns over Michigan, Ohio State and TCU.

“On the official visit, I was knew I was going to Texas,” he told On3. “The guys from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, they want all of us. And they’re about to go to the SEC, and they want us to all be together and win. Sitting down with the players and Coach Gideon and Coach Sark, it’s the way they see me in their defense. I’m just a missing piece to the puzzle, and the 4-2-5 scheme they run, we already run at IMG.”

Johnson-Rubell is excited to be back home in front of people who missed out on watching him in high school the past few years as well.

“It’s great feeling,” he said of coming home. “It had an impact on a lot of people for me to leave to IMG, and it was hard for them to come see me play. So they can come see me play in the state of Texas in front of a bunch of friends and family from Fort Worth.”

Texas sees Jordon Johnson-Rubell as a dynamic playmaker

Defensive backs coach Blake Gideon, along with Steve Sarkisian, led the way in Texas’ pursuit of Johnson-Rubell. He loves the family culture around the program in Austin, but he especially likes what Gideon wants to do with him in the Longhorns’ secondary.

“They see me at the nickel or safety spot, and with the 4-2-5, they see me everywhere,” he said. “When I talked to Coach Gideon about how they wanted to use me, that’s why I really fell in love with it. Out of all the coaches that recruited me, he’s the one I trusted the most. You want somebody who is going to coach you and give you the best shot to go the league, and I think he’s the best guy for the job.”

Johnson-Rubell also believes in what Sarkisian is building, and as a Texas native, he sees something different about the program than he did under previous coaches.

“I feel like Coach Sark is taking it to the next level,” he said. “You see the way he’s recruiting, and Texas hasn’t been getting those kind of guys in recent years. So him landing the top-notch guys is definitely going to be the big thing.”

Johnson-Rubell plans to be a vocal recruiter

Now that he is officially committed, Johnson-Rubell can put on his recruiting cap. And he has eyes on a couple of the state’s top players, namely Five-Star Plus+ EDGE Colin Simmons and five-star cornerback Kobe Black, both of whom Texas is trending for in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

“Just me being from the state and knowing all those guys, I have to get them down here,” he added. “I feel like we can get ’em.”

The 5-foot-9.5, 170-pounder is the No. 187 overall prospect and No. 14 safety in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 32 player in Florida.