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Georgia signs DL Toby Johnson to complete signing class

Remember when some fool said our recruiting was in decline because of Rodney Garner's departure? Isn't it good to laugh?

Toby Johnson making a tackle (in blue, on the L).  I bet he could be a great punter too.
Toby Johnson making a tackle (in blue, on the L). I bet he could be a great punter too.
David Rogers

So two weeks after signing day, Georgia decided to finally finish their 2013 signing class. Talk about a surprise (Athens Banner-Herald). Most people expected Georgia to have moved on from JUCO DL Toby Johnson in the days leading up to that first Wednesday in February. Some said it was because of the ACL last season. Some said grades. Whatever it was, they were wrong, and the former Banneker standout decided to return back to the Peach State to play his collegiate football.

Johnson, a 6'4, 310 DE from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, may need next year to redshirt his knee injury. But once healthy, he adds another big body to the DL roation. Many expected him to follow fellow Hutchinson CC DL Ben Bradley and former DL coach Rodney Garner to Auburn. Nope...

The big DL has an explosive first step, and a big frame according to his hudl.com highlight reel. He thinks he'll be healthy this fall, and if so, that's competition for Ray Drew, Garrison Smith, and others at the 2 spots alongside the nose in Grantham's 3-4 defense. If not, then he likely redshirts, with two years to step into a spot vacated by the rising senior Smith.

For someone who said signing day, and the signing class' biggest missing piece was another DL, adding the Atlanta native in Johnson is a big boost. Bravo Mark Richt. Maybe that'll help cool your seat for at least a day or two.