South Carolina Football: Top 5 Wide Receivers on Gamecocks’ Schedule
By Jacob Elsey
#4. CJ JOHNSON
Johnson is a name Gamecock fans might not be familiar with, as he plays on an East Carolina team that won only four games a year ago, but he certainly shouldn’t be overlooked.
As a true freshman in ‘19, he caught 54 passes for 908 yards, good for nearly 17 yards per catch on the season. He ranked among the American Athletic Conference’s top 10 in all three categories.
His quarterback, Hotlon Ahlers, returns after a stellar sophomore season, where he topped 3,000 passing yards, having the newcomer Johnson as his favorite target.
What’s crazy is the North Carolina native really didn’t get things rolling until halfway through the season. Over his first five games, he only recorded 11 catches for 108 yards.
From that point on, the hometown hero amassed 43 receptions, 800 yards and all four of his touchdowns. That’s good for 133 yards per contest. He never tallied less than 85 receiving yards over his last six games and turned in a 283-yard performance against Cincinnati.
Pro Football Focus ranks Johnson as the 17th best receiver returning in ’20. He’ll look to pick up where he left off, as the Gamecocks and Pirates meet in week two next year.