Little Rock Catholic offensive lineman Alex Johnson committed to play football at Arkansas on Saturday when he was offered a preferred walk-on spot with the Razorbacks.
Johnson realized a life-long dream to play at Arkansas when offensive line coach Eric Mateos offered at Saturday's Junior Day. Johnson, who was shocked and excited, quickly accepted.
“I just explained to him how much I love Arkansas and I’ve been a fan of the Razorbacks all my life,” Johnson said. “I guess that’s when I told him.”
Johnson, 6-2 and 280 pounds, was named Class 6A-East All-Conference and has been selected to play in the Arkansas High School All-Star Game this summer. He had an offer from Henderson State and a preferred walk-on offer from Arkansas Tech.
“I have family that lives up in Fayetteville, so I always go to games,” Johnson said. “When we beat LSU 17-0 [in 2014], me and my dad stormed the field. I’ve always loved Arkansas. It’s a dream come true to be able to have a preferred walk-on spot there.”
Johnson is expected to report to Fayetteville during Memorial Day weekend to start his career as a Razorback.
Johnson, who has a 3.5 grade-point average with plans to major in accounting, was star struck when meeting offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
“It was very cool to be able to see all the bells and whistles they have,” Johnson said. “Getting to talk to Coach Petrino was pretty cool. I grew up watching him coach. I actually got to meet the new running backs coach [Kolby Smith] they just hired. He sat beside us on the bus and we were talking to him about how long he had been with Arkansas and he goes, 'About four hours.'"