Jasper Johnson is the latest larger-than-life character from a famous Kentucky family

Kentucky's Fall Defense Talks Camp

Some top recruits shied away from the bright spotlight of Kentucky basketball. The pressure of playing under the microscope is too much for some shoulders. When Jasper Johnson ultimately decides to play for his Old Kentucky Home, it is almost impossible to build on the successes of his family predecessors.

Long before the shooting guard became a five-star sensation, his father and uncle were high school football phenoms at Harrodsburg High School, coached by their father, Alvis Johnson. The family patriarch was an assistant athletic director at UK later in his career, but the KHSAA Hall of Famer was much more than that. Matt Jones describes him today as “the original Vince Marrow.”

For those who didn't live through it, it's difficult to describe exactly what Derrick and Dennis Johnson meant to Kentucky sports. They were larger than life personalities and dominated the sport at one of the state's smallest schools before becoming stars for the Wildcats.

The unlikely high school career of Dennis Johnson

Dennis Johnson's legendary rise began when he first played in a college football game in second grade. His older brother was also on the team in third grade. The Johnson brothers were eventually sidelined when the KHSAA passed a rule prohibiting elementary school students from participating in college sports.

Dennis returned to the high school field in seventh grade. The following year, he was named a first-team all-state selection. By the end of his illustrious high school career, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound player had been named Sports Illustrated's National High School Player of the Year (and those weren't the only national awards he won). In 1997, he had 150 tackles, 37 TFLs and 18 quarterback sacks. Oh, and he averaged just under 40 yards per punt. Harrodsburg never got the big win, losing to Beechwood in two consecutive Class A state title games.

He wasn't just Mr. Football. Dennis Johnson won eight individual national championships in track and field, four in the shot put, three in the discus and one in the triple jump.

His high school basketball stats were almost as absurd as his football numbers. Dennis Johnson scored 2,306 points, 1,347 rebounds, 335 blocked shots, 315 assists and 161 steals. Playing alongside his brother Derrick in 1996, Dennis totaled 32 points, 21 rebounds and 7 blocked shots in two Sweet 16 games. He originally planned to play football and basketball at Kentucky.

“He chose Kentucky because they told him he could play both sports,” Alvis Johnson told Mike Fields in a 2016 interview. “But after (Dennis' first) football season, Hal (Mumme) told a different story. Tubby (Smith) was very disappointed that they didn't let him play basketball. He needed some firecrackers on the team and he thought Dennis could be one of those guys.”

Although he never played for Tubby Smith, Bill Keightley gave Dennis the number 30 jersey and an embroidered holdall they had prepared for Dennis.

Kentucky high school football player Paul Bunyan had high expectations when he started playing in Lexington alongside his brother, who played both offensive tackle and defensive tackle, and he immediately fulfilled them.

Hal Mumme wasn't exactly known for his defensive chops. Dennis Johnson finally became a difference maker for the Cats when they needed him most. He played in every game of his freshman season and made the starting lineup for the final six games, earning Freshman All-American honors as Tim Couch led the Cats to the Outback Bowl.

The following season, Johnson blocked a field goal that was crucial in the win over No. 20 Arkansas, blocked a kick in a one-point loss to No. 8 Mississippi State and had another in the Music City Bowl loss to Syracuse.

An injury in the season opener derailed his 2000 season, leading to a record-breaking final season in Lexington. Johnson set the school single-season record with 12 sacks. He had 19 TFLs, surpassed only by Art Still's historic 1977 season. In just three seasons, Johnson had 19 sacks, the second most in Kentucky football history.

Although injuries got in the way and several others (Bud Dupree, Josh Allen) eventually overtook him in the British record books, Dennis Johnson was one of the most decorated defensive players to ever play for the University of Kentucky.

This is intended to serve as a reminder

Big Blue Nation got swept up in recruiting the five-star guard who grew up just around the corner from Rupp Arena and is being recruited by a former national champion who is in his first year at the helm of the program, all the stars have aligned to make this one of the craziest recruitments in recent memory.

The zeal is just a slightly different version of what happened across the Commonwealth when the Cats courted his father. The Johnson family left an indelible mark on sports in the state of Kentucky, with Dennis leading the way as an athlete unlike any we've ever seen.