Under James Franklin's leadership, Penn State has been pretty good at finding players before most other major schools. They truly leave no stone unturned, and that's especially true in Pennsylvania and the surrounding states. In the current class, Penn State was among the first handful schools to offer Anthony Ivey, JB Nelson, Tyrece Mills, Mehki Flowers and many others.

A few weeks ago, the staff did that again, becoming the first Power Five program to offer York, Pa., native Kenny Johnson. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver is having himself a very strong junior season, totaling 852 yards on 46 receptions, scoring seven touchdowns.

With Dallastown set to face future Penn State QB Beau Pribula this past Friday, I travelled down to York get an up-close look at Johnson myself, and he certainly impressed. Below are highlights from that game, as well as an interview I did with Dallastown head coach Ron Miller.

He explained that Johnson just recently joined the program in August, and has immediately become one of the most respected players in their locker room, and that's not just because of what he's doing on the field.

Ryan Snyder: Kenny moved to Dallastown in the offseason. When did he join you guys? Did you have much time to work with him before the season?

Ron Miller: His parents moved in the summer. I believe he was trying to stay at York Suburban, but after a board meeting, he was unable to do so. So, I was home one Sunday morning and I get a call from a random 717 number. I pick up and the young man explains that he's Kenny Johnson and that he was wondering if I had any room for him on our team. I couldn't dial my phone fast enough. So, the next day, he and his mother came in and registered and this was the Monday of camp. We just did a week of heat acclimation, so the first real week of camp. So, we took care of all of this physical work as quick as we could, concussion testing, all this stuff, and that allowed him to enroll and join on Tuesday. So, he was with us for basically our entire preseason, which helped a lot.

I like telling this story to people because I want to give my seniors credit. You got to see Michael Scott Friday night, our other receiver who's just a freshman. He's a special talent as well. I had two seniors who were starting and when Kenny got there, it didn't take long to see we had to get him on the field. [My seniors] basically just turned around and said, ‘coach, we just want to win, we need both of these guys on the field to win.’ I just thought that was so incredibly unselfish of them and I like to give them credit because they're all about the team. But it also speaks to how talented guys like Kenny are. Everyone knew right away that we had a very special player joining us. Kenny has also been a great mentor to Michael as well. He's a great leader. Everyone respected him right from the start.

Snyder: I don’t know much about his time at York Suburban. Were you following him much while he was there?

Miller: His first game at York Suburban grabbed everyone's attention. I believe he had five touchdown catches. I forget how many yards, but I want to say it was 200ish, so I knew about Kenny after that. COVID messed up so much for everyone last season, but he played great for them and everyone down here in York County knew about him. I was just glad to see him doing well because everyone said he was a great kid. Next thing you know, he's over here at Dallastown and we're more than happy to have him.

Snyder: When did you know that he had the ability to be the kind of player who could play at a major college program? Any stories or moments that stand out early in his time at Dallastown?

Miler: Well, first of all, at practice, his work ethic was like nothing I've ever seen. We also saw him make some incredible plays at practice, but his first touchdown catch against Hempfield this year had two guys covering him and he went up and made a circus catch. It was like nothing I've ever seen to be quite honest with you. He also just made a few plays defensively and was all over the field. We knew then just how special he was.

We then played Manheim Township, who of course has Anthony Ivey. He's going to Penn State and is a great player. Kenny was incredible in that game. He had about 150 yards and two touchdowns. He's just a special dude. I've never seen anybody with that kind of body control. You were able to see some of that on Friday night. He made a catch in double coverage for a touchdown and then he made that catch down the sideline. He not only got one foot in, but two feet down. It felt like the quarterback was almost trying to throw it away and then Kenny makes that type of play. That's just who he is.

Snyder: Any other on the field strengths that grab your attention?

Miller: He has relentless energy. This past week, Pribula had a play where he drops the snap and still then completed it for a long gain on us. If you watch that film, Kenny almost picked it off as an interception, but then when he missed it, he ran the kid down and almost stripped it. That epitomizes what that young man is all about. He has just relentless effort at all times. I think that's a big reason why he's getting some interest from places like Penn State. He deserves it. He's something special. Boy, he's something special. But as I also mentioned earlier, his body control when he goes up for passes is on a different level. He's always in the right position. He always shields the ball correctly. He times his jumps perfect. He's ahead of the game in that area and I know schools love that.

Snyder: You’ve spoken about this a little bit, but off the field then, what does he bring? What’s he like in your locker room?

Miller: He's incredibly humble and a tremendous leader in the locker room. Everyone in our locker room knows he's the alpha dog. There's no question about that. When Kenny speaks, people listen. Remember, he just joined us and our entire locker room respected him instantly. But that’s not just because of his play, but because of how he handles himself. There aren't enough words for me to describe what a great young man he is, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. One example is that he stays out there after every practice and goes to the field every Sunday to work with Michael Scott, our young freshman. Michael has tremendous talent, too, and Kenny goes out there every Sunday to work with him. I don't have to say anything to him. He's not telling people about this or has never been asked. He's just doing it, and that's so refreshing in this day and age. He would take zero catches for zero yards and zero tackles for us to win every game, and I mean that sincerely.

Snyder: He’s up to four offers now. Are there some other schools showing interest? You mentioned to me that Notre Dame reached out recently.

Miller: Yeah, Notre Dame called the other week. I think they're going to be looking at him more. Of course, Temple and UConn have been calling about him a good bit. They both offered. Pitt has a lot of interest. They've been wanting him to visit. As I said to you before the game, I have stacks of mail in my mailbox from schools all across the country trying to learn more about Kenny now. As I get back to the schools and he becomes even more known, I really think he's going to take off. I'm just proud of him and I think he deserves everything he gets.

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