FAYETTEVILLE — Riverside, Calif. City College has already sent Arkansas a defensive end that is likely to make a big impact next season and the Razorbacks might add a defensive tackle from there as well.
Defensive end Michael Taylor (6-4, 245) — who redshirted this season after arriving after school started - was the host for current Tigers’ defensive tackle Melvin Johnson (6-5, 285) while he was in Fayetteville this weekend on his official visit.
“He (Taylor) loves it,” Johnson said. “He calls me every week and tells me how important it is to him. He really does love his school and the fan base.”
Johnson, who grew up in Las Vegas and originally signed with UNLV, felt at home from the time he landed at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.
“It was amazing,” Johnson said. “I felt the family vibe since I arrived at the airport. I loved the way the state is behind the team’s back. It’s very impressive. My parents and I enjoyed our stay. I really do like it.”
Johnson, who has three years to play two, admits that he came very close to committing during the visit.
“I thought about it very, very much,” Johnson said. “I know my decision.”
Johnson, who had 37 tackles with nine for lost yardage this season, currently has visits scheduled for Kentucky and Iowa State.
If he ends up at Arkansas, Johnson has been told that he will likely redshirt next season as Taylor did this season.
“Next year, they’re talking about redshirting,” Johnson said. “ I’m going to come in, it doesn’t matter, my mentality is if I come in at the bottom of the depth chart, I’m going to find a way to start somehow. I love to compete.”
Johnson believes that he can improve his pass rushing skills, which he notes could be better at this point.
“Pass-rush, but I love the run game,” Johnson said. “If you stop that, they’re going to pass. After you stop that, you’ve got to learn how to pass-rush and hit that quarterback.”
Riverside was 10-2 this season and made into the California playoffs.
“I feel like we could’ve done a lot better,” Johnson said. “We had a lot of stuff to work on, we had a lot of young players, but this year our team was very close. I love my teammates very much.”
Johnson was named all-conference and could line up at a couple of places on defense.
“D-tackle, D-end, it doesn’t matter to me,” Johnson said. “ I just love the D-line. I’ll play anywhere.”