What Tyron Johnson Can Bring to Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State got a big boost to the football roster Friday, with former five-star wide receiver Tyron Johnson announcing his decision to play out his career in Stillwater. The New Orleans area native is a 6-foot-1, 190-lb. player who doesn’t jump off the page with his freaky height (a la Marcell Ateman), or his stupid 40-yard dash times (a la Ra’Shaad Samples.) But Johnson can bring a lot to the table for OSU and there’s not really a measurable on playmaking ability — which is exactly where he shines.

Here’s what national analyst Bud Elliott wrote after scouting Johnson prior to his senior year:

Johnson is a solid route runner, and is able to get some separation on underneath and intermediate routes. Most impressive are Johnson’s hands and body control. Johnson makes a number of excellent catches in traffic and in the red zone by controlling his body, gaining the positioning advantage over the defender, timing his jump, and snatching the football aggressively with his hands, never letting the ball get into his chest plate. That’s a set of skills that produces first downs, and in the red zone, touchdowns.

[I interrupt this scouting report to bring you an example of that whole “snatching the football agressively thing.”]

Johnson also has some deceptive wiggle and after-the-catch ability. He’s not violent or sudden, but has a smooth, gliding gait and the ability to shake a defender and then get going up the field, not wasting time with multiple moves. The smoothness hides some of the effectiveness.

With his big play ability, OSU could utilize his talent in special teams, too, where he has proven to be a valuable contributor with his explosiveness. However they use him outside of receiving is just extra though. Getting a talent of his caliber to add to the receiving group for next year is huge. OSU will lose Marcell Ateman, Jhajuan Seales, and Austin Hays this year after their eligibility is up and assuming James Washington stays for his senior year. Losing that much production will be tough to replace, but also suggests there’s a chance for immediate playing time in 2017. Johnson should be able to slip naturally into one of those roles and could be a big-play receiver from day 1 next year.