ST. PETERSBURG — Austin Johnson knew what he wanted in a college. Of course there had to be a good football program, but Johnson was also looking for a college that had a civil engineering program. On his visit to Eastern Illinois two weeks ago, Johnson found it.
"The main thing for me was my major," said Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker. "A lot of schools that were looking at me didn’t have my major, so that ruled them out. Eastern Illinois had my major and that’s a place I can see growing and becoming a better person and a better player."
Johnson was part of four players from St. Petersburg who signed Wednesday morning. Vegabet He joined Matt Landers (Georgia), Adul Yates (Bethune-Cookman) and Darrell Bullock (New Mexico Military Institute).
He had never visited Charleston, Ill., home of Eastern Illinois, before his visit. Location wasn’t a big part of his decision. He said there were a few schools in Florida that looked at him but nothing serious. He knew he would have to leave the state to play.
"Everybody is saying it’s going to be cold," Johnson said. "I grew up in Florida. Wherever I go it’s going to be colder."
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