In case you were still worried about the Syracuse Orange’s secondary this season, Friday might have helped ease at least some of those concerns.
SU announced today that they’ve signed long-time JUCO target Duwayne Johnson, a three-star cornerback from Arizona Western, and one of the top 100 junior college prospects for 2018. Johnson visited Syracuse back in October, but had yet to make his decision. Thankfully, the wait paid off for the Orange.
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— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) June 22, 2018
DB DuWayne Johnson (@iam_weezy2x) has signed with #OITNF . A transfer from Arizona Western College, Johnson has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
https://t.co/VMPwoNtGmO pic.twitter.com/RXnfjygUBT
Despite having a very similar name to movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, SU’s newest addition is not exactly the same (though we’ll still be referencing The Rock’s movies from here on our anyway). While the elder Dwayne played football for Miami a couple decades ago and stands at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, our Duwayne is a more realistic size for a cornerback at 6-foot-2 and 172 pounds.
After two years at Virginia Tech, Johnson played in eight games for Arizona Western last fall, recording 17 tackles. The Orange were far from his only offer coming from the JUCO ranks, though. Arkansas, Iowa State, Missouri, Washington State and East Carolina were also looking to sign him.
While he played JUCO ball in Arizona, Johnson is actually from Washington D.C. originally, playing for H.D. Woodson. The school may sound familiar to those that follow recruiting a bit more closely. Four-star Orange receiver signee Ed Hendrix attended the school, as did former top running back target Mychale Salahuddin.
Johnson will have two years remaining to Rampage over opposing receivers, with some Skyscraper height for a cornerback. Syracuse seems set at cornerback already with Scoop Bradshaw and Christopher Fredrick, but DuWayne could move Fast and Furious up the depth chart.
Welcome aboard, DuWayne! You can catch some of his highlights below.