North Side football and basketball star Brauntae “Tae Tae” Johnson has announced his commitment to continue his football career at Notre Dame. He announced his commitment in a livestreamed video conference with 247Sports. They had him listed as a four-star recruit and the 13th overall ranked athlete in next year’s recruiting class. The commitment announcement took place this morning at Traction Athletic Performance in Fort Wayne.
“It was a blessing, it was all I dreamed of, really. And it really just shows that if you have dreams, if you have goals, anything you want, you can accomplish it,” Johnson said. “It’s just proof, honestly, [that if] you work for anything, you can get it. Notre Dame being my dream school, it just feels so much better because it feels like I’m somewhere I want to be, I’m somewhere where they want me to be. And I’m just in a great situation, honestly.”
Johnson told various media outlets that before committing to the Fighting Irish, he got to have dinner with Fort Wayne’s own Jaylon Smith, a Notre Dame alum. and a former Bishop Luers Knight. Smith has played linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants.
“He just talked to me about his time at Notre Dame and why he thinks I should go to Notre Dame and why he thinks it would be a great fit for me,” Johnson said. “He’s already been there, he’s been at Notre Dame, Butkus Award [winner], NFL, Pro Bowl. Just getting great advice from him and great leadership from him was another determining factor in my decision.”
Johnson will get to play for Notre Dame’s second-year head coach Marcus Freeman.
“He’s a young, energetic head coach,” Johnson said. “He’s looking to turn that program back around, get it back to its winning ways. He’s looking to bring a national championship there, and that’s my goal for college football is to win a national championship, and I feel like it can be done at Notre Dame with what Coach Freeman is doing; the leadership he brings, the relationships he has people around. So I’m very excited to go play for Coach Freeman for sure.”
Johnson has experience on both offense and defense. But at Notre Dame, he will focus on defense. He plans to play defensive back.
“They started out recruiting me at safety. And they let me know that they’re open to whatever I want to play,” Johnson said. “Really, it was kind of up to me. And the decision came to just where I could last longer in the NFL. And I think that playing at defensive back, with my natural abilities at defense back, and once I get technique down, I could be a great defensive back and last very long in my playing career for sure.”
At North Side, Johnson has excelled on the gridiron. As a freshman, in 2020, he was the Legends’ second leading receiver (behind Jordan Turner) with 596 receiving yards. Johnson tied Turner that year for the lead in touchdowns with 7. This past year (as a junior) Johnson was North Side’s leading receiver with 1,081 yards and 16 touchdowns. Johnson has also played defensive back. He finished last season with 23 tackles.
“I‘ve definitely enjoyed my time at North Side. You know I have relationships that’ll last for a lifetime at North Side, you know; teachers, coaches; you know relationships that’ll last a lifetime,” Johnson said.
This upcoming school year will be Johnson’s senior year. So he has one more year of both football and basketball at North Side, which he is very much looking forward to.
“I’m looking forward to that very heavily,” Johnson said. “I’m rehabbing right now to get back out there for football season. But this is my last year, this is my last go at it. And I’m looking to get a state championship with my team for sure in both sports. It’s a hard goal, but we have to work for something, and we’re not afraid of that.”
While Johnson committed to play football, he did not rule out continuing his basketball career at Notre Dame. He has been North Side’s leading scorer for all of his years of high school. While being interviewed by 247Sports, Johnson used the phrase, “I can’t stop hoopin’”. Afterwards, he told Summit City Sports and other media outlets that he would seek to join the basketball team as a walk-on.
“That’s exactly what I’m gonna try to do, try to get a preferred walk-on for the basketball team,” Johnson said. “If it happens, it happens, I’m gonna go from there, and if it doesn’t happen, I’m gonna just stick to football, and try to get to the National Football League
