Malcolm Johnson Signs With Edinboro University

Source: Edinboro Football (@Edinboro_FB)

When Malcolm Johnson started his high school football career in 2015; he was on a Gateway Gators team that was just average and was not known as the power house that they are now. During his freshman year of football in 2015, the Gators had an overall record of 5-4 and did not make the postseason in WPIAL Class AAA. As a sophomore, Johnson was also on the 2016 Gateway Gators football team that made the WPIAL 5A football postseason. That season, the Gators beat Armstrong 38-20 in the quarterfinals round of the WPIAL 5A football postseason and lost to McKeesport 41-38 in the semifinals round.

Johnson did not get as much playing time as he wanted to at his time at Gateway; but, after his sophomore year of high school, he decided to take his game to the next level. Right before the 2017 WPIAL football season, he transferred to Moon Area High School and began a new chapter in his life.

Johnson proved to the Moon Area football coaching staff that he deserved to play varsity and he had a good junior year of football. He played both cornerback and wide receiver for the team as he was a full time starter in his junior and senior year at Moon. He got attention from his style of play on defense. If you watch him play defense, you can see how fast he is to cover the opponent wide receiver or tight end. He is fast enough to keep up with the opposing receiver and that's what colleges like about him.

What Johnson is good at doing on defense that many fans do not notice is the fact of how good he is when he has to jam the opposing team's player. If you do not know, "A jam is a collision forced by the defender with a receiver coming off the line of scrimmage, intended to disrupt the path and/or timing of his assigned route." In the NFL, a cornerback can jam a receiver only when that receiver is within 5 yards of the line scrimmage. Well in high school football or college football, a defender can jam a receiver anywhere on the field, even if the receiver is somewhere like 25 yards away from the line of scrimmage.

In Johnson's junior year of football, 2017 WPIAL football season, Moon Area had an overall record of 5-5. Even though the team did not have a losing, their record was not good enough to get into the postseason. In his senior year of football, which was this past WPIAL football season (2018), Moon Area had an overall record of 2-8 and once again did not make it into the postseason. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Johnson led the team in receptions (18) and receiving yards (241) in 2018.

Even though Johnson never played in a WPIAL football championship game in his high school football career, he has been the player on the Moon Area varsity football team that has gotten attention due to his style of play on defense. Back in December, Johnson and a couple of Moon Area football players visited Marietta College. There was a chance that Johnson could have played there; but, on February 3rd he announced that he was going to continue his football career at Edinboro University and play defensive back.

"I was interested in Marietta and Westminster because I liked the coaches that came into my school to talk to me and the vibe they gave off. But, Edinboro has it all for me," Johnson said.

Johnson really enjoyed his visit at Edinboro University which helped him make his decision. Edinboro is a NCAA Division II football school.

"While I was there (Edinboro University), I was observing how the team bonded and the relationships between the players and the coaches. But, when I first got there and toured the campus. I really liked what I saw. Then, while going to meet the coaches and players we were being greeted by the players banging on table with a bagpipe playing! The atmosphere there is super awesome and I instantly connected with the players," Johnson said.

Johnson will be playing his college ball with his high school friend and Moon Area teammate, Ramone Dean. Yesterday, they both signed their National Letter of Intent together in the Moon Area High School gym. Johnson is excited to get back onto the football field with Dean.

"He was the first person (Dean) I really connected with on the field when I first came to Moon and he’s a great player. I would not want to spend the next 4 years playing with anyone else," said Johnson.

Johnson and Dean are not the only 2019 WPIAL football players that have committed to Edinboro. Logan Rossi (West Allegheny), Matt Hogan (Greensburg Central Catholic), Saige Ley (Seneca Valley), Brodie List (Beaver Area), Jeremy McCoy (Quaker Valley), Anthony Medicino (Central Valley) and DeShaun Sanders (Hopewell) have all committed to Edinboro University, as wel.

Johnson only wants to get better at football once he gets into college as by the looks of his senior year, it seems that he is a hard worker that has potential to be a big star at Edinboro. He knows that he still has some learning to do and he is ready for it.

"The biggest thing I learned my senior year of football is that there are going to be ups and downs playing this game. But, you have to always stay humble and hungry. Don’t get too cocky during the ups and don’t get too low during the downs," Johnson said.

Johnson will enjoy the rest of his senior year as he appreciates the fact that he can play football at college level. If the Moon Area Boys varsity basketball team makes it to the 5A WPIAL championship game in March, you might see Johnson in the Moon Area student section.