The 50 most important college players in Texas in 2016 — No. 34: UTSA's Jared Johnson

[caption id="attachment_23426" align="alignright" width="213"]ADW_7920 Photo by Ashley Wirz[/caption] The importance of a player is not always defined by their skill. The most important player on a team is not always the best player on a team. This list is designed to breakdown the 50 most important players in Texas college football for the 2016 season. It is not a ranking of the 50 best college football players in the state. Importance can be defined by position, need, skill or leadership. We’ll count down the list through the summer, all the way to No. 1.Previously — 35: ACU LB Sam Denmark // 36: Houston Baptist RB Terrance Peters // 37: Rice DE Graysen Schantz // 38: UTEP DE Alvin Jones // 39: SMU RB Xavier Jones // 40: Sam Houston RB Corey Avery // 41: Prairie View A&M DE DeVohn Reed // 42: Texas State WR Demun Mercer // 43: UTEP S Devin Cockrell // 44: UNT DT Bryce English // 45: Texas OL Connor Williams // 46: Texas Tech DT Breiden Fehoko // 47: Houston DT B.J. Singleton // 48: Texas A&M DT Daylon Mack // 49: TCU S Denzel Johnson  // 50: Baylor S Chance WazNo. 34 – UTSA quarterback Jared JohnsonThe History Jared Johnson spent his prep career at South Grand Prairie High School, earning all-district honors as a quarterback in his senior season. He passed for 1,411 yards and rushed for over 400 in his final prep season. His recruitment landed him at Sam Houston State, a FCS powerhouse located in the Southland Conference. Johnson redshirted in 2012 and played in eight games in 2013 as a redshirt freshman, starting against Central Arkansas. Johnson splashed onto the scene as the starting quarterback as a sophomore. He was a Southland Conference honorable mention selection after starting all 16 games, passing for 3,054 yards, a record for a Bearkat sophomore, as well as 24 touchdowns. Johnson also proved he was a dual-threat quarterback as a sophomore, rushing for 190 yards against McNeese State. He was the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a junior, but the season ended with Johnson on the bench during the playoffs. He led the Southland Conference in passing yards and touchdown passes. Johnson was third in the conference in total offense. After the season, Johnson announced his plans to transfer and the landing spot became UTSA. Under new head coach Frank Wilson, Johnson steps on campus as a grad transfer available for action in 2016. The Skillset Johnson possesses the athleticism to be a true dual-threat quarterback. He prefers to be a pass-first quarterback and his statistics at Sam Houston State back up those claims. While he did rush for 999 yards as a sophomore, he had fewer than half as many carries in 2015 despite only playing in two fewer games. He’s averaged 4.6 yards per rush and scored 11 touchdowns on the ground in his three-year college career. Johnson’s passing numbers dwarf his production on the ground, however. Johnson put up 5,352 yards and 39 touchdowns through the air as the quarterback at Sam Houston State. Johnson is 6-foot-1, 215 pounds. He isn’t the largest quarterback or the fastest quarterback. He’s an accurate quarterback known for making the right decisions. That decision making isn’t always about which receiver to throw the ball to, it is also about knowing the right time to tuck it and run. Johnson showed a high football IQ at Sam Houston State. The Impact Johnson is 21-9 as a starting quarterback. UTSA won seven games combined over the past two seasons. The Roadrunners need a quarterback and Johnson is a quick-fix for the position entering 2016. He’ll have to beat out returning starter Dalton Sturm, a former walk-on who earned the job after Blake Bogenschutz was lost to a concussion against UTEP last season. Strum played well in spurts, but was inconsistent overall and the team didn’t win many games. That wasn’t entirely on Sturm, but it is hard to argue that the Roadrunners struggled after the graduation of quarterback Eric Soza in 2013 and haven’t found an answer at the position since. With Bogenschutz done with football, Johnson has the inside track at earning the starting quarterback spot in Wilson’s first year as UTSA head coach.

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