High school football: Defending national champion IMG Academy hires former NFL linebacker Pepper Johnson as new head coach

Five-time Super Bowl champion promoted after being hired as defensive coordinator last year.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Zack Poff
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Jun 23, 2021, 3:00pm
Former NFL linebacker and five-time Super Bowl champion Pepper Johnson has been named the new football head coach for defending MaxPreps National Champion IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). He served as the defensive coordinator for the program last year, helping the Ascenders go 8-0 en route to the national No. 1 ranking.

Johnson is the fourth head coach in IMG Academy history after replacing Bobby Acosta, who took the head coaching position at Del Valle (Texas).

Expectations will remain high under Johnson at IMG Academy. Despite not having a head coach at publication time, the Ascenders were ranked No. 2 in the Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 released earlier this week.

Johnson played in the NFL for 13 years. He spent the first seven years of his career with the New York Giants followed by stints with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and New York Jets. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection (1990, 1994) and won two Super Bowls as a player.
After his playing days, Johnson coached in the NFL from 2000 to 2016. He was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams with the New England Patriots (2000-13) before moving on to the Buffalo Bills (2014) and New York Jets (2015-16). He also was the defensive line coach for the Memphis Express in 2019 and had a brief stint as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL.

He takes over for a team that has its sights set on repeating as national champs. The Ascenders have 19 players rated as a four-star recruit or higher by 247Sports and have more than 30 players who have landed at least one FBS offer.

Tyler Booker, Daylen Everette, Keon Sabb and Kamari Wilson are all rated in the top 50 on 247Sports for the Class of 2022.

Joenel Aguero, Malik Bryant, Francis Mauigoa, Samuel M'Pemba, Malik Muhammad and Carnell Tate all check in as top 50 players overall in the Class of 2023. 

Former Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Calif.) standout A.J. Duffy takes over under center. The 2022 Florida State commit is the No. 7-rated quarterback, according to 247Sports composite rankings. During his first two years playing in Southern California he threw for over 5,500 yards and 66 touchdowns. 

The Ascenders have not released their full schedule but have notable games lined up against La Salle (Cincinnati) on Sept. 3, Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) on Oct. 8, and against No. 10 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) on Nov. 19.

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