Nation's top-ranked JUCO player picks UGA

INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The number one ranked junior college player in the country according to 247Sports has decided to play football for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2019. Jermaine Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end from Eden Prairie, Minnesota currently plays for the Independence Community College Pirates in Kansas.

Johnson told FOX 5's recruiting analyst Rusty Mansell that Georgia has been his top choice for quite some time, but he only recently decided to make his choice public and verbally commit to Kirby Smart's Dawgs.

"There's no place like it," Johnson told Mansell, describing the Athens campus. "When you see that "G" you just want to be a Dawg."

Johnson went on to describe Kirby Smart's reaction when he told the Georgia head coach he was joining the reigning SEC Champions. "He was jumping up and down," said Johnson. "He was just shaking- eager to let the world know."

Mansell describes Johnson as a massive talent who instantly makes Georgia's 2019 recruiting class the best in the country.

"Georgia secured the verbal commitment of what many think could possibly be the best football player not playing at a division one school now., meaning he is the best available player to sign in junior college or high school," Mansell said. "He's an elite pass rusher that will be a difference maker day one for the Dawgs in Athens. Kirby Smart and staff are on another level right now and this is another prime example of that." 

The talented and explosive end rusher might not spend much time in Athens however, as many experts feel Johnson will play a single year of division one and then jump to the NFL.

Johnson can currently be seen on the third season of the Netflix show "Last Chance U", playing for the Independence Pirates. The reality show features elite athletes with difficult pasts trying to turn around their lives. Johnson admitted he had bad grades and made poor decisions in high school, which eventually led him to the Kansas community college.

According to 247Sports, Johnson had 22 offers from some of the most powerful football programs in the country, including Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, and UCLA.

Johnson may be going from "Last Chance U" to "Best Chance U" as he joins a powerhouse 2019 class at UGA featuring another top defensive talent, Upson-Lee DT Travon Walker, the state's number one ranked player, who verbally committed to Georgia just last week live on FOX 5.

SEE ALSO: Travon Walker, nation's 7th-ranked HS football prospect, commits to UGA