WHO IS HE? He is the No. 8 defensive line prospect in the country and the No. 69 overall prospect for 2026.

The Georgia football team started the day with six days’ worth of promises from players in the class of 2026. Strangely enough, top 4-star defensive lineman James Johnson was supposed to make another choice on Saturday.

They didn’t rest on the seventh day either.

Johnson made another seven promises in seven days when he picked the Dawgs over Florida, Miami, and Texas, who were all close behind.

Johnson said, “It was just the best fit for me.” “The most progress. Along with the coaches, I get along well. That’s the main reason I did it.

He made his choice at Amelia Earhardt Park in Miami during the 70th annual “West Fest” event for Miami Northwestern. He wore four hats when he got on stage.

The Florida lid was picked up by him. Then quickly brushed it off. After that, he did the same thing with Miami. He picked up his third hat from the table and didn’t put it down until he was done. Johnson did not even bring that Texas hat with him to the stage.

He said that the Longhorns came in second place for him in the race. In the past week, Miami also messed up his phone a lot. He said the Hurricanes tried to get in touch with him while he was sleeping.

He said, “I knew on my first official visit.” “That’s when I knew.” I chose to give up all of my other OVs to see if anyone could change my mind. From the beginning, I was hooked on Georgia.

This recruiting process was similar to Johnson’s junior highlight tape, which was run by Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott and Kirby Smart.

“Kong” throws the ball, runs right over the defender who is supposed to stop him, and then chases a quarterback down the line and up the field to make the catch.

For example, the Dawgs didn’t offer Johnson until the first week of November of last season. But they liked him so much that they made him his boss in February, after a big “Junior Day” trip to Athens in January.

Here is the first act of Johnson’s junior film:

Both Miami and Texas put up strong fights, but in the end, Johnson became the pledge with the best rating of the streak so far. He is ranked much higher by On3 than by the 247Sports Composite, which ranks him as the nation’s No. 8 DL and No. 69 overall talent.

He is ranked by On3 as the top defensive lineman in the country and the 15th best prospect for this cycle.

The 6-foot-3, 285-pound player is moving from North Fort Myers High to Northwestern High, a power school in Miami, for his final year. He makes the class make 24 formal promises.

Because of this choice, Georgia has moved ahead of Notre Dame to become the second-ranked team in the 247Sports Team Composite rankings for this cycle. The four-star player is now the fourth-best talent in this year’s Georgia football class.

Among the prospects the Dawgs have signed in Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and now Florida over the last week, he is also the most highly ranked member of the team. It looks like Johnson will be an interior defensive lineman. He will be in the same class as 3-star JUCO star Seven Cloud, 4-star Georgia legacy Carter Luckie, and 3-star in-state DL Corey Thomas.