Spencer Rattler is the starting quarterback at Pinnacle High School. He is also the best pro-style quarterback in the country and has committed to play at the University of Oklahoma next fall. But Rattler, just like any other high school football player, is capable of sustaining an injury that halts his playing time.

That’s exactly what happened on Aug. 24 when Pinnacle was playing Mountain Pointe. Rattler went down with an ankle injury early in the second quarter and JD Johnson entered the game for the Pioneers. Johnson, who is a junior, had not seen much playing time this season.

Upon entering the game in the second quarter, Johnson tore up the Mountain Pointe defense, throwing for 250 yards and three touchdowns. The following week, Pinnacle traveled to Horizon and with Johnson in command, led an aerial assault on the Huskies’ defense. Johnson went 18-for-26 and threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns.

It would be easy to think that without Rattler leading the offense the Pioneers wouldn’t be able to function very well. The players and coaches at Pinnacle all knew differently and believed in the junior to go and win in his first start. “I expected nothing less from him. He’s a great player,” Rattler said when asked about Johnson’s play while Rattler was injured.

Johnson has given all of the credit for his success to Rattler. “It’s really just Spencer. I compete with him every day and he just makes me better and I make him better. He’s really just taught me so much over the past couple years and I commend him for that,”.

After stepping in for Rattler in those two games, Johnson gained some national attention. There were media outlets there following Rattler’s performance and when the cameras were still rolling after Rattler was injured, Johnson wasn’t fazed and put on a show.

Before seeing much time during his junior year, Johnson had earned offers from three Division I schools: Arizona, Colorado State and Nevada-Las Vegas. After his recent performances, he earned another offer last week from South Carolina.

Johnson had a mindset similar to many recruits while entering his recruitment journey, saying “The one thing I always used to think was “I’ll commit to a school because of the facilities,” Johnson said. Johnson has done a fair amount of traveling to colleges across the country. “He’s been at like 10, 15 schools already,” Rattler said.  

After receiving advice and navigating through his recruitment process, Johnson now has a better understanding of how he will make his decision. “It’s really the relationship that I am going to have with my coaches is why I am going to commit somewhere,” Johnson said.

Johnson expects to get a fair amount of playing time in the next couple weeks, and with that, he could see more offers roll in. His goals have remained the same all season. “When I get in, go light it up and do what I do,” Johnson said about his goals for the rest of the season.

Head coach Dana Zupke has the same expectations for Johnson as he does any of his other players.

“He’s only one play away and he knows that,” Zupke said.

The coach seemed excited to talk about the growth that the junior quarterback has made throughout this season.

“We just want to make sure that we are helping both guys grow,” Zupke said, talking about the competitive spirit that both Rattler and Johnson bring every day.

Both quarterbacks look to continue shredding defenses as Pinnacle travels to Surprise to play Valley Vista on Friday night.