Sports
Wrestling: Jeremy Johnson, the heavyweight leader
By: Brett Carroll
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The Bobcats find themselves in a transition year. Although the team is young, they still have their sights on the MAC Championship and maybe even a spot on the national spotlight. In order to achieve their goals, they will need to depend on sophomore standout Jeremy Johnson.
Johnson, a product of Broadview Heights, Ohio, didn’t start wrestling until eighth grade when he and a friend made a pact to try it out.
“There was no wrestling background,” Johnson said. “Me and my friend just decided to give a shot and I loved it ever since.”
His hard work and constant dedication earned him a 95-36 career record in high school as well as multiple wrestling awards and accolades. That ‘never take a day off’ attitude carried over with Jeremy when he came to Ohio and it’s something that has definitely caught Bobcat wrestling coach Joel Greenlee’s eyes.
“He doesn’t work hard some days, he works hard every day.” Greenlee said of Johnson. “He’s a super hard worker and he’s got a burning desire to be good.”
When asked about Johnson’s potential, Greenlee didn’t hesitate to put his young star among some of the elites.
“I really expect him to be an All-American,” the 15th-year head coach said.
Johnson won the heavyweight weight class at the Michigan State Open on Nov. 12 and had his streak of 12 straight wins snapped at the Reno Tournament of Champions in December. Greenlee did not stop there in his praise of his sophomore, as he talked about his biggest expectation for Johnson.
“I expect him to be a national champion before his career is over.”
That’s a lot of promise for a kid still pretty young in his college career. But Johnson has high expectations for himself as well as team.
“We have a really good team although some of the guys don’t know it yet.” Johnson said. “I think we can win the MAC tournament. We just gotta peak at the right time and we can go very far.”
His confidence in the team mirrored the confidence that Greenlee had in him, and Johnson knows that he will be a key piece and will have to continue to produce if the team wants to reach its potential. There is defiantly a lot of pressure on Jeremy Johnson this season. However, at 285 pounds, Johnson is more than capable of putting the team on his shoulders.
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