Doug Pugh, BCP

Hillsborough High School’s Reggie Johnson journey to college is a long one. Literally. The 6’1″ 235lb Defensive Tackle has signed his Letter of Intent to play for the University of South Dakota.

“The recruiting process itself is pretty amazing. I feel really blessed to have been around the country seeing different things and meeting different people.” The soft-spoken DT who has lived in California and Georgia realizes he won’t be in “Kansas” anymore so-to-speak. Reggie has been learning that college is a completely different setting than high school.

Johnson tells a funny story about his 1st trip out to South Dakota.”My first ‘whoa’ moment came when I called and asked coach if it was snowing. He said ‘no’ so I didn’t think anything about it. What I didn’t realized is that there was already feet of it piled up.”

Although he didn’t realize some of the finer things like a college student’s social schedule is different from his usual, Johnson is very much appreciative of the kind of attention that the folks on the campus paid to him. “It’s crazy, if you’re really good at what you do, then people will make sure you get what you need,” said Johnson speaking about the kind of dedication it takes to be successful at the next level.

Once on campus, Johnson plans to pursue a Degree that will allow him to get his RN’s License once out of school. Although this is not a given. “That’s what I really want to do, but I have a feeling I may change my mind before then.”

Johnson averaged 6 tackles a game this season for the Terriers.