North Penn’s Johns verbally commits to West Virginia

For Ricky Johns, it came down to staying close to home or setting off on a new path.

Johns, a senior wide receiver/safety at North Penn, chose the latter Sunday evening when he made a verbal commitment to play football in the Big 12 at West Virginia University. An All-Suburban One League National Conference selection last year, Johns had a breakout junior season that had him on several teams’ radars.

WVU was there first and never let up trying to get the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Johns and that determination was what helped him make his choice.

“I’ve been going over it with (North Penn football coach Dick Beck) for the past two weeks and it was 50/50 between West Virginia and Temple,” Johns said in a phone interview with The Reporter Sunday night. “I had them ranked in my mind and I felt like the time came, so I picked West Virginia.”

Johns, who caught 50 balls last season for 980 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense, said he isn’t sure where he will play with the Mountaineers. Early reports from recruiting sites are pegging him more as a safety but Johns said he’s willing to play wherever he can best help the team.

WVU is well-known for its “Air Raid” offense that features a wide-open, up-tempo system with a heavy emphasis on the passing game.

The rising senior also had offers from Temple and Villanova on the table, along with some other interest. He made a visit to West Virginia on the program’s Junior Day and came away impressed with everything he saw.

“The football facilities, the coaching staff, especially my recruiting coach Mark Scott, they really made me feel at home,” Johns said. “Morgantown in general, as a football town, how they bleed for WVU football really stood out.”

North Penn has been traditionally known as a power-running team and the Knights certainly had that last year with Nyfease West, now at Delaware State. But the arrival of quarterback Reece Udinski added a vertical aspect to the offense and it was Johns who benefited most.

With his size, Johns showed a consistent ability to go up and win contested balls and also created separation both while covered and in the open field. With good hands, he and Udinski clicked pretty quickly as the Knights won the SOL National and advanced all the way to the District 1-AAAA championship game. He also pointed to his size and quickness as assets defensively.

“The team was just flowing,” Johns said. “On defense, I just tried to do what I do best and go out there and play. His ability to throw the ball and my ability to come get it just worked out so perfectly. We did pretty well making the district finals and we hope to go back.”

Johns is also a member of North Penn’s basketball team and said that’s something the college coaches liked about him. He plans to play again this winter and thinks hoops has helped his foot speed and ability to read and react quickly.

Whether it be on offense or defense, Johns said he wants to be seen as a leader.

“I want to get my teammates involved and pumped up,” Johns said. “Once we all get pumped up together, we start rolling as one unit and that brings us the wins.”

Johns said he will be visiting campus again this fall and plans to attend either the Oklahoma or Baylor games, which will be his first game experience at Mountaineer Field.

In the meantime, he and his North Penn teammates have some things to accomplish first. It’s been a good summer for North Penn and Johns said the team has performed well at camps and 7-on-7 events, including a camp at Penn State.

The senior also wanted to thank his teammates and Beck for their support, advice and input during his selection process.

While Temple well on the local scene recently, adding commitments from Archbishop Wood’s Raheem Blackshear and Abington’s George Reid this summer and the lure of staying close to build something was strong, Johns felt his path was somewhere else. Somewhere, say, down country roads.

“I wanted to build my own path,” Johns said. “They were the first school to offer me, they stayed after me, paid attention and told me to remember ‘we were the first school to offer you and we really want you here.’”