Michael Johnson Jr.

A partial edit of Michael Johnson Jr., the nation's top 2019 dual-threat QB

(Courtesy of Michael Johnson Jr.)

The Oregon Ducks football program hired Willie Taggart as head coach hoping the dynamic recruiter and up-and-coming leader would re-cement the program among the nation's elite.

In just a few short weeks, Taggart delivered a top-20 national recruiting class, highlighted by major gains in the key states of California and Florida.

But in assembling his staff, Taggart also made significant in-roads with future classes, most notably the hiring of Michael Johnson as wide receivers coach.

His son, Michael Johnson Jr., is rated the nation's No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2019, and he already holds offers from Arizona, Cal, Florida State, Louisville, Ohio State, Oregon West Virginia and others.

This week, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound signal-caller visited Eugene in order to get familiar with Sheldon High School, where he will enroll in the fall, and to spend time with his father.

For Johnson, the tour of Sheldon High School put him at ease about his life change, and had the dynamic playmaker dreaming of an Oregon 6A state championship in the coming months.

"I officially enroll in the fall," he said. "I went and took a tour there on Tuesday. That's it. It's Sheldon. It was official before that, but that was one of my first times seeing the place. It's bigger than what I'm normally used to. It's obviously going to be a big culture change from my last school and what that was like, but I'm ready for it."

Johnson also got a chance to check out Oregon football practice at Jesuit High School and spend time with the coaching staff.

"It's really good," he said. "The whole coaching staff treats me like family. It's like my home away from home."

Johnson indicated that while he's still wide open in the recruiting process, the opportunity to play alongside his dad in Eugene would be difficult to turn down.

"Honestly, I'll have to wait to make that decision in the future, but I'm guessing it would be a little difficult...being there all the time," he said. "Being around everything with my dad there, I think it would be hard if I was turning them down, but I haven't thought about that really."

Having a dad in the college coaching world has given Johnson a leg up in terms of his understanding of the game, but it's also put a brighter spotlight on the budding star.

It's also helped provide some clarity of (but not cemented) his football future.

"It's a blessing and a curse," Johnson said. "I'd be considering Oregon with or without my dad there. With my dad there, it gives them - I wouldn't say an advantage - it just makes me around a lot more. I guess it makes me a little bit more interested. It gives them a little bit of an edge for me... being around them so much, because they are turning into like my extended family."

Hoping to experience the full spectrum of the recruiting process, Johnson recently visited Ohio State, and came away impressed with what the Buckeyes have to offer.

"It was really nice," he said. "Whenever a guy like Urban Meyer wants you - he's one of the best, if not the best coach, in college football - you have to take that into consideration."

For now, Johnson is prepping for his early June move to Oregon and living up to his billing as the nation's top dual-threat quarterback.

"Being ranked No. 1 on 247(Sports) is a great honor and obviously I want to keep that spot, because it means a lot to me," he said. "I'm just going to keep working hard to do what I need to do to keep that spot. It's a humbling thing."

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec