TAMPA, FL -
It's a standing room only crowd. Dozens of people crowded into a Jesuit High School conference room, and all eyes are on Travis Johnson.
The hat of his future college is in his bag.
He signs his national letter of intent then unveils the hat.
His choice is Cincinnati.
"Basically, I wanted to get out of the state of Florida and be in different environments," Johnson said. "I never had that childhood of playing in snowball fights and things like that. A part of me wants to actually do that."
Johnson doesn't know yet how well he can throw snowballs, but he can catch footballs.
His great hands along with his 6-4, 243-pound frame make him an ideal college tight end. ESPN rated him as a four-star recruit.
Johnson originally had given a verbal commitment to Miami, but he withdrew it after the NCAA started its still ongoing investigation into the program. "I really didn't want to get stuck there and sign the papers and then something comes out and they're not in bowl games or they get scholarships reduced and things like that," he said.
Johnson chose Cincinnati because new coach Tommy Tuberville told him he could play there immediately, but it wasn't a slam dunk decision. Johnson said he wasn't sure about it until last night.
"I don't know if it was last-minute or not," said his mother Angela Hardy-Jones, "but I know he was pulled between USF and Cincinnati."
New USF coach Willie Taggart started calling Johnson the day he took the job.
Johnson's Jesuit teammate, lineman Cameron Ruff, who signed with USF, was hoping Johnson would join him there. "We had gone through middle school and high school together," said Ruff. "But I think Travis got to make his own path and his own decision."
Johnson is happy the decision is finally behind him. "I've been this since my sophomore year, basically, getting all this attention," he said. "Now, I don't have to worry about people calling my phone every single day and blowing it up."
