Recruiting Reset: Nate Johnson’s ability to wreak havoc makes him a perfect fit for Mizzou

Dec 24, 2024 | Uncategorized

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Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl - Miami (OH) v Appalachian State
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Corey Batoon’s defense is known for one thing, being relentless in their pursuit of tacklers. Nate Johnson fits that mantra perfectly.

Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson are both examples of an ever-growing archetype—a lengthy yet quick edge rusher that can get in the backfield. Nate Johnson is exactly that and will be a key asset to Corey Batoon’s defense next year.

Per The Appalachian, Johnson first started playing football as a wide receiver in the seventh grade before making the switch to defensive line in the 10th grade. This switch explains a lot of Johnsons quickness and ability with his hands on his film.

“At first it was pretty difficult,” Johnson said. “As a wide receiver, you’re physical, but not on every play. In the trenches, you’re physical every play. I would say that was probably the hardest part.”

Johnson also alluded to how much his prior experience in route running helped him in the pass rush, making moves such as the jab step and karaoke step a lot easier to put to memory.

The most intriguing thing about Johnson is his career trajectory as he just keeps going up and seems to be a late bloomer. He switched to defensive end as a junior in high school, became an all-state defensive player in South Carolina, then earned Freshman All-America honors from The Athletic at Appalachian State, and he now finds himself slated to start at an SEC program.

He was tied for first in the country in sacks among true freshmen in 2023, and had a dip in production in 2024 which was mostly due to less usage than the previous year from an injury he suffered against East Carolina. He dropped in pass rush snaps from 234 to 123, yet still had four sacks. If we look at his production from a rate standpoint he had 0.03 sacks per snap in 2024 and 0.03 sacks per snap in 2023, so the reality is his total production dropped but he stayed virtually the same player.

Nate Johnson can bring one thing to this team if he continues this upward trend: sacks, lots and lots of sacks and tackles for loss.

Let’s take a look at what he brings to the table.


Where He Fits: He mostly lined up at outside linebacker at App State but make no mistake, this man is a pure edge rusher. Only 29 of his 325 snaps last year had him in coverage, and I doubt Batoon is going to put a guy who has 97 coverage snaps in two years in the Sun Belt in coverage that often in the SEC.

He’s got two inches on Johnny Walker Jr. as far as height is concerned which makes him appear a little less beefy than Walker but he serves a very similar role. Johnson is most likely going to be tasked with one thing: get to the quarterback.

I think Johnson is going to bring a lot of added dividends in the run defending game that people may not have previously thought, his tackling efficiency got a lot better this year for Appalachian State and I imagine with a semester of spring ball and a whole off-season in the SEC, that trend should continue.

When He’ll Play: It’s a position of need and he’s an established player, I’d like to believe this means he’s going to be playing immediately. He’d really be a waste of talent sitting on the bench (Looking at you Sterling Webb, I saw your production this year you deserved better).

What It All Means: The Tigers are going to have a boat load of competition at the edge spot this year, and Johnson is just going to add to it. Iron sharpens iron is the age old saying, and the age old applies here.

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