Southern Durham High School (Durham, NC) produced two quality prospects for the University of Virginia in the 2005 football recruiting class. After signing wide receivers Maurice Covington and Brandon Woods last month, UVa is hot on the trail of a top 2006 recruit from Southern. The player – offensive lineman Carl Johnson – is considered by many to be the top rising senior prospect in the state of North Carolina.

Early in his high school career, he played tight end and on the defensive line. He grew big time the summer before his sophomore year and subsequently moved to the offensive line. So what stands out about Johnson? Well, start with his size and then focus on athleticism.

”I’m 6-6, maybe taller,” said Johnson, who also played on the basketball team before this past season. “I haven’t been measured in I don’t know how long. I’m about 340 pounds. My best attribute is my run blocking. I’ve been able to focus on that since we were mainly a running team last year. I do have good pass blocking skills because my father Jeff Parker [who used to be the offensive line coach and is now the head coach at Southern Durham] taught us those.”

A top recruit nationally, Johnson has an impressive (and long) list of scholarship offers that includes Clemson, Florida, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, North Carolina, N.C. State, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Tennessee and Virginia among others. He has taken unofficial visits to Clemson, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, N.C. State and Tennessee. He was impressed with many of his unofficial visits but is not ready to name a leader right now.

...