Rivals250 DB Ju'Juan Johnson commits to Colorado over LSU, Florida

Beating out LSU for a recruit from Louisiana is no small feat, especially ones who live fewer than 60 miles away from Tiger Stadium. Deion Sanders isn't into the odds, however. As much as it can be an uphill battle for teams outside The Boot to add commitments from those recruits, Colorado is operating at a different level under its new staff.

Saturday, the Buffaloes added a key commitment from Louisiana as Rivals250 athlete Ju'Juan Johnson announced his pledge to CU over a final group that included the Tigers and Florida.

Colorado managed to earn the last visit before Johnson came to a decision as he made the trek from Lafayette to Boulder last weekend. That proved to be important as he pushed forward making his early commitment Saturday.

In addition to his finalists, Colorado beat out the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Texas, Oregon and Nebraska for Johnson's commitment. In all, the versatile 5-foot-11 recruit holds offers from close to 20 programs across the country.

Johnson has become an elite talent through his work on offense as a quarterback and receiver, but he is expected to make the move to defense in college as a member of the secondary where he has excelled in a smaller sampling.

The Buffs recently earned a pledge from the top-rated cornerback in the 2023 class, Cormani McClain, and picked up a transfer from Jackson State cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter, who was the top cornerback in the 2021 cycle.

Johnson is now the fifth commitment for the Buffs already in the 2024 class and the second member of the group to join this week after offensive lineman Talan Chandler announced his decision Friday after visiting Boulder last weekend.

The latest commitment for the Buffs moves the program up to No. 13 on the Rivals team recruiting rankings list pushing CU ahead of Michigan State and Texas Tech. Oregon (No. 11) is the only Pac-12 team currently ranked ahead of Colorado.