While others tried to flip him, West Mifflin’s Nahki Johnson remained committed to Pitt
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When Nahki Johnson committed to Pitt in the early days of the summer of 2019, he was barely removed from his sophomore year at West Mifflin.
Two more seasons of high school football lay ahead.
There were still 18 months before he could sign a binding letter of intent with the Panthers — enough time for other schools to try to change his mind.
Johnson, a defensive end who graduated early from high school to jump-start his Pitt career this winter, said Wednesday some schools would not even mention Pitt in their pitch.
“They would recruit me just like I was out here as a free agent,” he said.
Others tried other means.
“They would talk down about Pitt, say they are better than Pitt,” he said. “’Oh, we have more fans here. Why would you go there? We have more people getting drafted.’ I wouldn’t entertain it.
“At times, it really was difficult. I was just starting to get a lot of really good offers. People were asking me, ‘Why did you commit so early? Wait until you get more offers. You have all these other schools you can go to. Why not wait to commit so you can get more offers so you can become a five-star.’”
But keeping his word meant more to Johnson than the number of stars next to his name.
“I don’t look at the ratings and the media and all that stuff,” said Johnson, rated a four star by Rivals.com. “If that’s where my heart’s at, that’s where I’m going to go, and Pitt was where my heart was at. If I see something and I like it, that’s what I’m going with 100%.
“I made that decision and just stuck with it and told my mom.”
The opportunity to learn from Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was, perhaps, the top attraction, Johnson said.
“I feel like Coach Partridge is one of the best defensive line coaches in the country,” said Johnson, who had offers from eight Power 5 schools. “I put all my trust in him.
“What really pulled me in was just him, him as a person. I feel like we have more of a personal connection than a business connection. Everything about Coach Partridge was just the right choice and a person I wanted to coach me.”
Partridge was honored Wednesday as Football Scoop’s Defensive Line Coach of the Year.
Huge congratulations to @CoachPartridge for EARNING the @FootballScoop Defensive Linemen Coach of the Year. Well deserved! #H2P pic.twitter.com/4rZYHfmIJr
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) February 24, 2021
Meanwhile, Johnson had become a minor celebrity back home.
“I’m humble, but half the time, I feel like a superstar walking around in the mall,” he said. “People looking at me, ‘Is that Nahki Johnson?’ Coming up to me wanting to take pictures. My dad’s looking up my name on Google every five minutes to see the latest post about me.
“At the same time, I have to be humble because I’m still at the beginning. I really haven’t earned anything. I just got here.”
Johnson was committed to Pitt long enough to wear the colors in his mind.
”I always felt like I was player, just not on campus yet,” he said
So, he became a Pied Piper, trying to get his buddies to join him. One of four WPIAL players in Pitt’s class of 2021, Johnson said he takes “at least half the credit” for Baldwin’s Dorien Ford and Central Catholic’s Elliott Donald signing with Pitt.
“I grew up with both of them,” he said. “I knew them before all the offers, before high school. If we decided to go anywhere, we were probably going to all go together.”
Johnson also struck up a friendship with Deerfield Beach (Fla.) defensive back P.J. O’Brien, who eventually joined Pitt’s class of 2021 after decommitting from Auburn.
But, first, Partridge laid the foundation.
“He’s been on me since my sophomore year of high school,” O’Brien said. “Once I decommitted from Auburn, he was just chopping up with me and the connection got (close). It was love, just love.”
Plus, Pitt players Marquis Williams, Vincent Davis and Aydin Henningham (a teammate from Deerfield Beach) also helped recruit him. O’Brien said former Pitt safeties Damar Hamlin and Paris Ford are role models.
But what about you, P.J.?
“Hard hitter, tackler, going to go get the ball, pick, touchdown,” he said, laughing. “Get your cameras ready, please.”
O’Brien, who is Johnson’s roommate, said he thinks about the NFL, but he has other goals that need fulfilling over the next few years.
“It’s my dream, but right now I have to get (things) done, now, in college,” he said. “I have to get everything done.”
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