Rising 2028 ATH Aden Johnson talks Nebraska offer: "It's big-time for me"

Every once in a while you see a high school football recruit who simply stands out from the rest.

It might be because they have a size advantage. Or that they can run faster than everyone else. Or throw a football better than the others. Most guys who go on to play power conference football are blessed with at least one of those traits. Sometimes they seem to have it all, and those are the guys who catch your eye.

Aden Johnson catches your eye.

Already standing 6-foot-5 and 193 pounds as a member of the 2028 class out of Pembroke Pines (Fla.) West Broward, Johnson didn’t look like the rest of his Miami-based Team RAW teammates at Nebraska’s Battle at the Boneyard 7-on-7 event earlier this month. That is, outside of only 2027 Ruston (La.) tight end Ahmad Hudson, who stands 6-6 and 240 pounds.

Nebraska, which threw its hat into the ring with an offer after seeing him compete at the event, hopes Big Red is where he ends up.

“It’s a big-time school,” Johnson told Inside Nebraska of the Husker offer. “Having an offer from there is like having an offer from Oregon. Like, it’s big-time for me.”

If it wasn’t for the Battle at the Boneyard, Johnson and his RAW teammates might never have seen the $165 million Osborne Legacy Complex with their own eyes.

Johnson couldn’t believe it.

“That facility is huge. They have a golf course inside the facility, I don’t know what other school has that,” Johnson said with a laugh.

Nebraska’s coaches helped make the event a huge success, too. That includes receivers coach Daikiel Shorts Jr. and JACK linebackers coach and Miami-area recruiting ace, Phil Simpson, who was the one who offered Johnson.

The impression the coaches made on the campers, especially Johnson, is hard to overstate.

“The coaches had a good sense of humor, they were funny,” Johnson said. “They were coaching me while I was playing. I want to go on a visit up there.”

Said Johnson of Rhule: “Coach Rhule is funny. We were doing the cone game with him. I had to get on his good side, so I told him everything about me.”

Consider Johnson a fan of the city of Lincoln, too. It wasn’t what he was expecting to see.

“I thought it was going to be very, very country,” Johnson said of his initial expectation of Lincoln. “But then when we got there, it was a city, it’s not really country. I didn’t think the stadium was going to be that big and averaging 90k at games.”

There’s little doubt Johnson will develop into a high-profile national recruit when his time comes to sign with a school.

As a freshman last fall, he was a multi-positional terror for West Broward’s varsity. While playing defensive end, outside linebacker and safety, Johnson recorded a head-turning 93 tackles and 13 sacks. As a receiver, he caught 17 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns while taking two handoffs for 45 rushing yards and one score.

Johnson, who already owns other power conference offers from Miami, Florida State, Kentucky and Minnesota, said about half the programs that have offered see him as a defensive player while the other half project him as a receiver.

Johnson’s head coach at West Broward, Brian McCartney, believes his future in football will be on the defensive end.

“I think that’s where he’s going to make his money — on the outside,” said McCartney, who’s entering his sixth season as West Broward’s head coach. “Because he’s a great receiver, but he’s actually a way better defensive end and outside linebacker.”

Johnson, who said he likes to watch and learn from football greats like linebacker Lawrence Taylor and receiver Randy Moss, said Nebraska sees him as a defensive athlete right now. That makes sense with Simpson being the one to offer.

But with Johnson’s size, length and speed, who knows what he’ll develop into once he reaches college.

“He’s one of the longest kids out there, and he can really run like no other,” McCartney said. “Like, he hasn’t even figured out his top-end speed yet. When he gets going, he’s going, he’s flying. It’s actually amazing when we watch him run 100s, he’s one of the fastest on the team.”

McCartney knows Simpson well, and he believes Nebraska’s idea for the Battle at the Boneyard was clever, and one that will be copied by other programs next offseason.

McCartney sees the vision with Nebraska’s recruiting.

“Very good dude, very good coach. I think that’s why they brought him up there, to bring in some South Florida blood,” McCartney said of Simpson. “I think you get the big boys from the Midwest, and then you get some speed from South Florida, and all of the sudden you’re competing for championships.”

It’s too early to tell how impactful the inaugural Battle at the Boneyard was in terms of signing future Huskers from South Florida. But it can’t be denied the event was a huge success in building and expanding Nebraska’s brand and planting seeds that might grow into something real down the road.

Because of the Battle at the Boneyard, Nebraska is in better position to compete with major power conference programs that will be knocking on Johnson’s door.