UPDATE>>On the evening of July 29th, Keyshawn Johnson joined SportsCenter to explain his decision to pull his son out of Mike Riley's program at Nebraska following a disciplinary incident.
Hear his thought process in making that decision in the clip, and read more on the situation below.
Keyshawn Johnson, Jr., was one of the most important recruits in Mike Riley's still-young tenure at Nebraska. A 6-foot-1, 195-pound wide receiver, Johnson was one of two 4-star wideouts in the Cornhuskers' 2017 class, a key cog in the Nebraska staff's "Calibraska" effort -- Johnson is from Calabasas, which helped Nebraska land two additional 2017 recruits and a 2018 commit -- and, you know, Keyshawn Johnson's son.
However, the younger Johnson's career has hit a speed bump before it began. He arrived in Lincoln in January with the intention of getting a jump on playing time this fall, but suffered an illness that set him back in spring ball. Earlier this month, Johnson was cited on suspicion of marijuana for allegedly smoking in his dorm.
Johnson will spend this fall at home, with the possibility of returning in 2018.
“One thing you will not do as my son is you will not embarrass Nebraska, you will not embarrass Mike Riley and you will not embarrass this family,” Johnson Sr. told the Omaha World-Herald. “If you mature and you’re ready to resume your football career and academic goals, then Nebraska will be ready to embrace you.”
Riley -- who coached Johnson Sr. at USC -- told the paper he is fully on board with Johnson Sr.'s 6-month maturity timeout.
“You’re in college now,” Johnson Sr. said. “You’re an adult. You’re not a kid. You take a look at it from afar and let me know how important it is to you.”
Something tells me six months at home, watching his teammates play games he should be playing in, will produce a different level of commitment in Keyshawn the Younger.