Johnson III Leaves Southfield Arts and Tech.

Written Thursday January 26th at 11:00 PM

Well Quarterback Sam Johnson III will be playing for the Warriors next season.

But it will be for a different set of Warriors.

Johnson III confirmed on his Twitter page that he is transferring from Southfield Arts and Tech and will enroll at Walled Lake Western next season.

With Johnson III's departure, it would mean that John Darby will become the starting quarterback for the Warriors next season.

Southfield Arts and Tech loses 43 seniors this season but they do return a solid core of talent for next season for coach Tim Conley.

The Warriors under Darby went to more of a read option game when Johnson III got hurt late in the regular season. Under Johnson III, Southfield Arts and Tech went to more of a spread attack, in which was huge in their big win over Clarkston. The Warriors won their final three games to make the playoffs with Darby leading them. They lost to Utica Eisenhower in the regional final last season.

It is expected that Johnson III will be the starting for Walled Lake Western next season. He will be a junior  and holds multiple Division One College Football offers. The Warriors went to the Division Two State Finals losing to Detroit Martin Luther King last season in the Division Two Final and will be in a new league with them departing from the Kensington Lakes Athletic Association.

Thoughts.

This move was clear that Southfield Arts and Tech was going to go to more of the read option attack with Darby than Johnson III. Johnson III is not a running quarterback (more of a pro-style) while Darby is a read option quarterback.

Johnson III  threw for 1.700 yards and 20 touchdowns as a freshman at Southfield saw that Walled Lake Western needed a quarterback with John Tracey graduating and playing College football at Harvard. He won’t have a Cody White to throw too but he will have wide receiver Justin Thomas and a trio of offensive lineman in Joey George, Zach Fodal, Ryan Dickerson, and newcomer Spencer Brown, whom came over from Walled Lake Northern to protect him. Walled Lake Western will have four defensive starters back as well.

For the Warriors, they have Darby and some athletic running backs to fill the void. Also, Southfield Arts and Tech has depth. They will be fine moving forward.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this developing story.