Jalen Johnson '21 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Jalen Johnson. I am a Junior at Potomac Senior High School in Dumfries, Virginia. Aaron Donald has been my role model for football and life. I have worked very hard to have good grades in school. I was about give up on football, because I did not feel like anyone cared if I played or not. It was not fun and I was not enjoying it. My mom who is from Gambia, West Africa, and my sister use to make me go to practice when I was in the 10th grade. I use to leave stuff at home so I would not be able to practice or play, I hated it that much. Then I met someone who had played football and believed in me and he inspired me to give it a real chance and look at players who played my position and see how they played.

I looked up players who played position and I started to read about Mr. Donald. I realized having a single mom who worked and traveled was not an excuse to give up on myself. My mom loves me a lot and she does all she can and believes totally in me. She says I can do anything I want and do not allow one or anything to stop me. Although she travels a lot and is not always home, she still talks to me every day to make sure I am ok and doing the right things.

I do not want to disappoint my mom, because she works so hard and sacrifices so much. My dad walked out on us and he does not show me any support. He rarely contacts me and he makes promises that he has not lived up to yet. But as I look at Mr. Donald, I know I can do anything if I work hard enough and if I believe in myself. The hardship of basically living alone on my own since 14 has not stopped me from doing well in school and now as a junior in high school doing well in football.

My goal is to graduate in the top percent of my class and get a scholarship, so my mom does not have to struggle to put me through school. I want to one day play college football and major in computer science. I want to mentor other young guys like me and show them that no matter what you are going through, if you stay focused on school and a sport, you can overcome anything and do anything in your life. I see this through Mr. Donald and I believe I can one day be like him. I admire his work ethic and it is the same work ethic I try to use. I stay focused, because I see my mom’s struggle and one day she will not have to struggle, because I will make sure she is paid back for all that she has sacrificed for me.