Offensive lineman
commits to UH

Dan Johnson earned all-state
honors in Washington's
largest classification

Dan Johnson had a good feeling about the islands when he visited here last month. That vibe stayed with the offensive lineman from Skyline High School in Sammamish, Wash., all through the holidays.

Johnson made an oral commitment to accept a football scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii yesterday. He said the recruiting duo of assistant coaches Mike Cavanaugh and Wes Suan sold him on joining the Warriors.

"Coach Suan told me a lot about the university and I was impressed," Johnson said. "Coach Cavanaugh definitely knows what he's talking about. I'm confident he can help me get to the level where I want to be, on and off the field."

Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound all-state player (in 4A, Washington's largest classification), was also offered a scholarship by Idaho. He canceled visits to Idaho and Idaho State. Washington showed early interest, but did not offer.

Johnson and his father, Bob, visited UH a week after the Warriors ended their regular season with a victory over Michigan State.

"Within the community there's so much support," Johnson said. "You can tell it really is a football community. UH is a great fit for me academically and for football."

He said watching the Warriors beat UAB in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve helped him decide to pick UH.

"Yeah, that was part of it. I pretty much knew after my visit, but I wanted to keep my options open," he said.

Johnson can make his commitment binding on Feb. 2, national letter of intent day.

He is the third offensive lineman to commit to UH this recruiting season. Laupepa Letuli of San Diego and Adrian Thomas of Australia are the others.