Severna Park’s Sean Johnson Skyrockets Spalding To National Football Ranking

Archbishop Spalding is currently ranked the 12th best high school football team in the nation according to MaxPreps, a website service that covers high school sports nationally.

Severna Park resident and junior defensive back Sean Johnson is part of Spalding’s stellar defense that allowed only 24 points in the Cavaliers’ first four games, two of which have been shutouts by Spalding.

“Sean is one of the most talented players in our program,” said head football coach Kyle Schmitt. “His skill set allows him to play all three secondary positions and his length and size create challenges for all types of receivers. He has a chance to join players like Jahmeer Carter (Virginia), Zakee Wheatley (Penn State), Kellan Wyatt (Maryland) and Keyshawn Flowers (Maryland) as the best that has ever played that side of the ball for us.”

Johnson started playing football at 6 years old for the Pasadena Bucs program before he and his family moved to Severna Park. At 10, Johnson joined the Green Hornets and really began enjoying playing football.

“There were two coaches in the Green Hornets who really taught me a great deal about football in Kevin Howell and Carl Johnson,” Sean Johnson said.

“Coach Schmitt invited some of my Green Hornet teammates are I to a game against Mount Saint Joseph, and the atmosphere was great with the huge crowd, the band, and Spalding played with such intensity,” he added.

As a freshman, Johnson made the varsity team as a 5-foot-9-inch, 140-pound defensive back. During the next three years, Johnson grew to a 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pound athlete.

That size and sideline-to-sideline speed caught the attention of many college recruiters. Currently, nine Division I football programs —including Oregon, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and many other colleges from the Big Ten and ACC — are in contact with Johnson to play for them.

University of Maryland representatives have kept steady communication with Johnson in hopes that he joins his seven Spalding teammates who are playing for or committed to the Terps.

Johnson recently visited Maryland to get a sense of a game-day atmosphere with four of his Spalding teammates.

“Coach (Tyrone) Forby took us up to College Park and they fed you and then coach (Mike) Locksley talked to all of us and knew how we played the night before, and congratulated us on the win,” Johnson said. “We also got to stand at the 50-yard line and watch warm-ups, and the best part of the day was talking to our former teammates who are playing for the Terps. That was really cool.”

As Johnson goes through the recruiting process, he realizes how lucky he is to have the chance to continue playing at a major football program.

“It’s great to talk to the coaches from all these colleges and I’m so blessed to have these opportunities,” Johnson said.

As he begins to examine and gain exposure to these colleges, Johnson has a checklist of what he is looking for in a university.

“When I go to these campuses and speak to the coaches, I will look for how the coaches treat the players. Is there a brotherhood among the players and (is there good) academics?” said Johnson, who wants to major in sports medicine at whatever school he attends.

Now in the middle of this season, Johnson is keeping his focus on helping Spalding be one of the top teams in the country and stifling the opposing teams’ offenses.

One of the trademarks of Spalding’s recent football prowess has been a hard-hitting, athletic, ferocious gang-tackling defensive unit led by Forby, the team’s defensive coordinator.

“Coach Forby is one of a kind,” Johnson said. “He makes you better every day and knows what your capabilities are. He’s really a good coach.”

So far this year, Johnson has made his mark in these victories by having seven tackles against DeMatha, an interception and pass break-up against New York’s Archbishop Stepinac, and a touchdown-saving tackle against McDonogh where he ran from the opposite side of the field to run down the receiver.

“Sean has a high-level skill set,” Forby said. “He knows every position in the defensive backfield. He’s tall and physical and just a really smart football player.”

Spalding’s goal this year is to capture their third consecutive Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) A Conference championship.

Johnson and his teammates want to play their best football in November and add another title for the Cavaliers’ football program. Johnson will then wait until spring to take recruiting trips and decide what college fits his criteria the most.

“Sean will be a great addition to any college’s defensive backfield,” Schmitt said. “I can see Sean as a boundary cornerback at the next level as he is great at stopping the run and his height will help cover tall receivers.”