Dillard duo sticks with UM as locals continue to strengthen Hurricanes’ 2023 class
It was a heavy dose of green and orange on Wednesday morning at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale.
Running back Chris Johnson, who the University of Miami Hurricanes have been courting for a very long time, and cornerback Antione Jackson, when the moment arrived, both donned UM head gear to let the world know that they were headed to Coral Gables to be a part of what many hope will be Mario Cristobal’s building block process back to greatness.
Johnson is a four-star running back ranked No. 53 in the state regardless of position by 247 Sports who helped lead the Panthers to a regional semifinal berth this past season.
“They offered me last spring and really pushed hard,” said Johnson who indicated that the program’s struggles this past season never gave him reason for pause. “There was no second place school in any of this. It was always about being a Cane. It’s a big step for me in my life, I know the coaches are really counting on me to go right in there and contribute and I’m hoping I can be part of a national championship.”
Johnson and Jackson were two of seven football players, along with one girls’ basketball player, with tables lined up on the stage of the school’s auditorium. Many school administrators talked first before the athletes announced their intentions. The guest speaker was NFL Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce, a Dillard alum who was a part of the program’s last state football title in 1989.
“With Chris, Miami is getting an immediate game-breaker,” Dillard coach Tyler Tate said. “Somebody who every time he touches the ball, he’ll have an opportunity to take it all the way. And looking at the class of O-linemen they’re bringing in and you have a back like him and a back like Mark Fletcher (American Heritage), you might have the most dynamic duo in the country coming in in this 2023 class.”
While Johnson left little doubt of where he was going, Jackson actually decided he would keep everything up in the air as he also had an East Carolina cap on his table in addition to UM. And when he got up to the podium to make his announcement, he actually blurted out “East” before backing up and saying “University of Miami” pulling the cap out of his bag.
When pressed, Jackson said he was serious about East Carolina and claimed not to have made his final decision until Wednesday morning.
“I was serious, I hadn’t really decided until this morning,” Jackson said. “What swayed me? The way the Miami coaches were pushing really hard and coming at me and not giving up.”
He also indicated that East Carolina had mentioned the possibility of him getting on the field right away as opposed to likely having to work his way up the depth chart at UM.
“I was tempted by East Carolina because I would’ve been able to go there and get on the field right away,” Jackson said. “But it’s all good. Now Chris and I are going down there together and ready to go kill it.”
Tate indicated that Jackson’s decision may have been driven by wanting to stay close to home with his mom.
“He loves his mom and I think he wanted to say close to home,” Tate said. “Antione is a freak athlete. From the first day he stepped on campus he was a starter for me. He has amazing ball skills and he’s got that swagger and confidence about himself and when he gets down to Coral Gables, he’ll be ready to compete.”
Other Dillard football signees included WR Tastean Reddicks (Oregon State), OT Daniel Michel (FIU), WR A.J. Jenkins (FAU), S Trevaughn Martinez (Western Carolina) and OT Rico Jackson (North Carolina State). The one non-football signee was girls basketball star Khyala Ngodu, who signed with UCF.