Lucy Beckham OT Ty Johnson (6-6 300) has been on a heater the last couple of weeks when it comes to offers. He capped a productive month of January with a visit to South Carolina on Saturday, and he left with an offer from head coach Shane Beamer and new offensive line coach Randy Clements.
Johnson, his dad, and his younger brothers braved the drive through the snow up I-26 Saturday morning and got the full junior day treatment, which included a meal, a tour of the facilities, and meetings with various coaches. Towards the end of things, he got the news from Beamer that he had a Gamecock offer.
“In state, it’s pretty big,” Johnson said. “It’s a good offer to have. I’m really excited to take this next step with them. I think it’s really good for me. It’s a good opportunity for me. I like Beamer, and the new offensive line staff, I like them a lot.”
Johnson said he spent a good amount of time talking with Clements, getting to know him better, and learning how he feels about him as a player.
“He really likes me where I’m at physically right now,” Johnson said. “He likes my gameplay. He wants me at tackle. He wants to start me out at tackle. If I end up going to the interior, then I end up going to the interior. It’s not the end of the world. But he thinks he can have me play tackle. That’s his goal when I come up in the spring.”
The South Carolina visit was only the second January visit for Johnson. He was supposed to go to Virginia and Virginia Tech last weekend, but the weather interfered with that.
His only other visit of the month was to Georgia, where his father was an offensive lineman in the mid-90s. The Bulldogs offered him on that visit, which had to be a special moment for his dad.
“He was calm, but at the same time, he was excited,” Johnson said. “He’s been open about this whole process. He’s not like one of those, you either go to Georgia or nothing. He’s been very open about it in the process, so it’s been good.”
Johnson has also added recent offers from Duke, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, North Carolina, and Stanford. He also has offers from Virginia Tech, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, UAB, UMass, and Campbell.
Johnson plans to take more visits in the spring, visits he feels will be more beneficial than junior day visits because he can watch the coaches work with their players. He has not set any official visits, but said USC, Georgia, and North Carolina will be three of his stops.