We're featuring some of our HomeTeam 100 players, including our No. 92 player, Armwood QB Noah Johnson:
Confined to the context of the weight room, Noah Johnson (6-0, 170) may be enjoying the best summer of any Armwood player. He has squatted 450 pounds and could try for 300 on the bench when all the Hawks are tested Thursday.
“We think he may be able to get 300,” offensive coordinator Evan Davis said, “because (he got 285) during just a normal workout.”
Regardless, Johnson’s most critical test of strength still awaits, far from any bench. In about a month, Davis and coach Sean Callahan will set their pistol offense — rife with zigs, zags and zone reads — atop Johnson’s 16-year-old shoulders and hope he can lug Armwood from the Alvin Bailey era into another championship juncture.
“He might not have the pop Alvin Bailey or Mywan Jackson had, and he may not have the charisma of Josh Grady,” Davis said, referring to former Armwood QBs who graduated to Division I football. “But you put ’em all together and he could be something special.”
If the summer is any sign, Davis and Callahan’s investment in Johnson is well-founded. In five 7-on-7 tournaments, the converted slot receiver has totaled three interceptions, earning overall MVP honors in last month’s 16-team Battle of the Bay event won by the Hawks.
“It was like, ‘This is exactly what we need,’ ” Davis said. “A guy who’s going to learn as we go, and who isn’t going to turn the ball over.”
Also in this series:
Players 91-100