Ruston's Chess Piece

Among the many words used to describe Ruston senior Nate Johnson, “special” comes up more than any other.

A multi-year starter in the Bearcats’ loaded defense, Johnson’s high praise goes beyond his physical makeup – standing a modest 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. What sets him apart can’t be quantified in measurables.

His advantage, and the biggest reason his coaches trust him, comes from high-level processing and information retention that has turned him into a hard-hitting and dependable safety for Ruston.

Through six games, Johnson leads all defensive backs in total tackles (39), tackles for loss (5) and forced fumbles (1). Take it beyond the defensive backfield, Johnson is third on the team in total tackles, trailing only the team’s linebackers Zheric Hill and Jadon Mayfield.

Opposing quarterbacks have completed just 44.1% of their passes against Ruston’s defensive backs, with 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the year.

And Johnson is right in the center of it all – literally, as defensive coordinator Kyle Williams explains. Without Johnson’s abilities and on-field smarts, the Bearcats wouldn’t be the fierce unit they are.

“I think if you look at our defense, we’re able to be multiple and do all the things that we do because of what him and Jadon Mayfield can do,” Williams said. “Him (Nate) as a safety, Jadon as a linebacker, and they each can transition forward and backwards. We can drop Jadon down and him rush but we can pull him out and get him to cover. With Nate, we can drop him in and put him in the box and him play a linebacker type of position and even walk him up along the line of scrimmage as a glorified defensive end and we can ask him to cover. They’re like chess pieces in our defense. Nate’s a very smart kid, he’s a very tough kid and plays really hard. He’s a very gifted kid where he can run, he can tackle. All in all, we’re really lucky to have a kid like him around.”

That versatility is hard to find at the high school level, but Johnson said his play is just what’s expected when you play for Williams. There are no shortcuts, and everyone has a role to play. Sometimes that may include more than one in each game, but Johnson sees each responsibility as one he must understand inside and out.

“It helps knowing everyone’s job on the field,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of my plays, it comes from not only being in my position but reading the play pre-snap and knowing where my guys are going to be and where my guy is going. I think I made some plays last year, but this year I wanted to be at a bunch of different positions. I wanted to play corner, safety, on the edge. Just versatility and be all over the field. If I put that on tape, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

And with responsibility like that, Johnson believes in nothing less than 100% effort in whatever his next assignment is.

“It takes 100% every play and it takes for the guys to the left and to the right of you.” Johnson said. “Anything less than that, you’ll not only be exposed on the field but you’ll be exposed in the film room and by teammates. We all hold each other to that standard.”

Fast Learner

Football IQ is often ascribed to players with in-depth knowledge of the game and an ability to be mentally versatile as waves of real-time plays develop in front of them.

On that spectrum, Johnson lands high. But understanding concepts, detailed assignments, and positioning in football doesn’t come out of nowhere for the Ruston safety. That process begins across the street in the classroom at Ruston High School, as Johnson’s awareness shines through just as clearly.

During the summer, while others might be off on vacations and letting their brains turn off for a few months, Johnson was taking the biggest college-readiness test of them all, and it paid off. Johnson earned a composite score of 34 on the ACT.

According to PrepScholar.com, 1,349,644 students took the ACT in the Class of 2022, with the average composite score being a 19.8 out of 36. Only 13,575 students in that class earned a 34.

Williams said Johnson’s intelligence off the field prepares him better than most to step onto the gridiron on Friday nights.

“I firmly believe we could come up with a whole new defense every week and he would grab it and he’d be able to perform in it,” Williams said. “Now, we’d gameplan and make tweaks and do this and that, but I think that’s a testament to him. He can grab something new and take off and run with it and be effective with it that day. It doesn’t take multiple days to get comfortable with it.

And then if something is happening in-game that we either don’t like a matchup or our leverage on the ball, we can make adjustments and his ability to think on the fly gives us an opportunity to adjust things we see going on in the game.”

Johnson showed his ability to perform at a high level as a key member of Ruston’s defense that led the team to the state championship for the first time since 1998, finishing his junior season with 89 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 6 pass breakups.

After the season came to an end, Johnson was named a first team All-District 2-5A selection along with an honorable mention LSWA Class 5A All-State nod.

Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said trusting in Johnson came easy last year and will continue to be that way as the 2023 campaign pushes forward.

“Nate’s a very special person for our football team and for our football program moving forward,” Baugh said. “I’ve said this about several different kids through the years, but Nate is a very good representative of what you would want Ruston Bearcat football to be like. Nate takes care of his business across the street. He’s on Student Council. He’s involved in the community. I don’t say that a bunch about a lot of guys, and that doesn’t mean they aren’t good players and good kids, but Nate is really on the top end in a lot of those things.”

Preparing for future opportunities

Johnson’s final season at Ruston means he’ll soon have to figure out his future home at the college level.

But as someone who plays with command of his surroundings and likes innate control of his direction and speed, going at colleges’ respective pace has been challenging.

So far, Johnson has offers from Mississippi Valley State, Culver-Stockton College, and Centenary, opportunities he’s grateful for but hopes to improve before his senior season ends. Until then, Johnson said he’s focused on what he can control and believes the process will all work out in the end.

“It can be discouraging at times, but at the same time I’m not in college right now, I’m playing high school football,” Johnson said. “If I can contribute right now to this team, that’s what I want to do.”

Williams’ recruiting profile was quite different when he played for the Bearcats, but that doesn’t make him less sympathetic for his starting safety’s situation.

As someone whose coaching philosophy centers on raw, honest evaluation, all coming from a place of love, Williams said his message to Johnson has been one of patience and realization.

“I think as far as it comes to recruiting, is LSU going to come calling for Nate? Probably not, but just from a physical standpoint,” Williams said. “ They’re not looking for 5-foot-10, 170-pound safeties. That’s just not what they’re doing. Now, do I think he could go and perform at a lot of different places? Absolutely. I do. We’ve got a linebacker that I think can go play anywhere but he’s limited in what he has. I just tell Nate the only thing you can control is your ability to perform on Fridayss and then doing your absolute best, because if you’re worrying about what’s to come, you’re not going to perform the way that you can in the moment. Nate deserves more opportunities, and he does have some, but Coach Baugh says all the time we don’t pass out scholarships. I wish we did because I think we’ve got some guys that can really play.”

Baugh has also told Johnson that college football is not a linear path for everyone. Every player can’t receive Power 5 offers, and that doesn’t mean you can’t find success if you don’t.

One strength on Johnson’s side that Baugh hopes he uses to parlay into the right football opportunity down the line is his academic accomplishments and involvement.

“Coach (Kyle) Williams and I talk to him quite a bit about it,” Baugh said. “He gets frustrated with the recruiting deal, which he’s 5’10”, 180 pounds. You can stop at any school around and you can find people that physically may look like that. But Nate plays special and obviously what he does in school is special. We tell him, ‘With a 34 on the ACT, you decide where you want to go to school, and I’ll pick up the phone and call the dang football coach and we’ll get it figured out for you to go play football.’” Until then, Johnson will continue to act as the valuable chess piece that makes the Bearcats function and work with his teammates to accomplish a mission far greater than a college offer.

At the end of the day, that’s all he wants.

“I just hope people remember me as a great teammate who worked his butt off,” Johnson said. “I’m going to miss every rep in the weight room and every conversation with a teammate and every high five. That’s the stuff I want to be remembered for, not necessarily stats. And just being a part of the team that brought the state championship back to Ruston.”