WR Johnson still hoping to take official visits in June

Everything seemed to be coming together perfectly for Keagan Johnson's recruitment this spring, but then the COVID-19 outbreak occurred and temporarily threw a wrench in some visit plans.

The Bellevue (Neb.) West wide receiver had several offers on the table, but narrowed his list down to Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas State in late February. The plan was to make a round of unofficial visits to each school this spring before taking official visits in June.

Now, he's not quite sure what's going to happen.

"I’m doing great, still just trying to figure everything out," Johnson said. "I had a visit to Nebraska last weekend that got cancelled then Iowa and K-State at the beginning of April that also got cancelled. So that definitely messed up my timeline. I'm still trying to figure everything out, just got to reroute some stuff and I’ll be good. Hopefully I can still get to my officials in June."

The current NCAA dead period is set to last until April 15. However, depending on the current state of the pandemic there's a chance that could be extended.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound athlete is certainly not panicked by the current situation, but he's also not oblivious to the fact that he may have to adjust on the fly as far as his recruitment goes.

"It really all depends on how long this all lasts for," Johnson admitted. "If this goes on for a while I will probably make a decision without that last visit. If not I’m trying to get to each school one more time. So right now I’m just playing it by ear, still taking my time. I won’t rush anything."

The good news for Johnson is that he's been to each of his top three schools for unofficial visits several times already. He also says he stays in regular contact with the coaches from each school, including Nebraska offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Matt Lubick and inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud.

"I talk to Coach Lubick and Coach Ruud probably three to four times a week," Johnson said. "I hear from Kansas State and Iowa probably two to three times a week."

Although the Huskers recently hired Lubick, Johnson says the two of them has connected quite well in a short amount of time.

"I think him and Coach Frost had such a good relationship that it was a very easy transition for [Lubick]," Johnson said. "He’s mild mannered, but you can tell he really knows his stuff. He's always very genuine when we talk on the phone. Most definitely he’s easy to talk to."

There has been a lot of talk this spring surrounding the lack of depth at receiver for Nebraska and Johnson says that was addressed by Lubick the last time the two of them spoke.

"Coach Lubick was just explaining to me how they're so thin right now at that spot," Johnson said. "He feels I could be an immediate impact guy, especially being a mid-year graduate."

While getting on the field early is appealing for the Husker legacy, he says that he's carefully weighing all of the pros and cons each of his finalists have.

"Playing early is definitely appealing, but there's pros and cons to each school which is what makes this process tough," Johnson said.