Lincoln’s Jayden Wayne, Gabarri Johnson both highly coveted recruits

They may have taken different paths to get here, but their goals and their mission are aligned.

“Jayden, he’s the one,” Lincoln High School junior quarterback Gabarri Johnson said. “He’s the bigger recruit, obviously. Just look at him, 6-5, he can move. Most coaches want to see me throw, or do different things in person. So for me, It’s actually just getting out and going to the colleges or having coaches come here to see me.”

That process paid off for Johnson just last Friday when the University of Washington came down to Tacoma, watched him throw and added their offer to Johnson’s growing list of suitors.

Johnson’s teammate, Jayden Wayne, already held such an offer.

Both juniors are consensus top five recruits in Washington state for 2023, and both are members of this year’s class of Northwest Nuggets-In-Waiting.

With a year to go before needing to make a decision, both are keeping their options open even as they look ahead to what they both hope will be a highly successful final season at Lincoln. At the same time, keeping those options open has meant a lot of visitors on the Tacoma campus.

“Especially since January has hit, and the coaches can come out and visit, it’s been wild,” Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto said. “It’s been crazy, but in a good way. We always have Division I prospects, but Jayden is probably the biggest one I’ve ever had. And Gabarri is up there, too.

“It’s a blessing. But what I’m really thankful for, they’re great kids. You just never know when you get a talented kid, how humble they’ll be, how coachable they’ll be, how respectful they’ll be because, you know, social media can blow up their heads. They’ve got voices coming from left and right. But they’re both down-to-earth kids. They’re just pleasant kids to be around.”

Wayne is the soft-spoken, 6-foot-5 defensive enforcer who lets his action speak louder than any words. He’s been atop recruiting lists in the state for two seasons and has suitors from across the country clamoring for his services.

Just last week, Wayne posted on social media a Top 11 schools that includes Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Oregon, Texas, USC and Washington.

“It’s been crazy, you know,” Wayne said. “I’m just really enjoying this experience. I just continue working, to work my way up there.”

Johnson is the more gregarious, out-spoken quarterback with the big arm and leg speed that makes him a dual threat on virtually every play. His list still is growing, with Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, WSU, Arkansas and now UW having offered, among others.

“Hopefully I get more interest from the SEC,” Johnson said. “We all want to go play with the big dogs. I’ve always had dreams of playing down there, playing with the best. But I’ve never had a dream school where if I get an offer, I’m going there.”

Johnson said more opportunities likely will follow as the Abes chase the ultimate prize this fall — a Class 3A state title.

“We were two of our five freshmen on our 2019 team, and we made it to semifinals,” Johnson said. “Just the feeling of getting there, the love we got from the Tacoma community and all that, that’s a feeling that we want to feel again. If we can get over that, get to the state championship, me and Jayden are going to work to get us there and we have a lot of other seniors with us just working toward the same thing.”

Fulfilling that final high school mission can benefit more than just Wayne and Johnson.

“We’ve just gotta dial in,” Wayne said. “Start focusing and dial in.”

“It’s just getting better and working toward that next level but trying to bring as many people with us as we can,” Johnson added. “There’s a lot of ballers on our team, a lot of people that want to go play college football. It’s bigger than us. We can get both our sides (offense and defense) on lock, and we should be able to do something special our senior year.”

The decisions about that next step will happen in the course of things.

Wayne said he’d like to have his choice made by the end of the summer to remove that distraction from Lincoln’s mission for a title. For Johnson, the decision likely will take a little longer.

“Towards the end of the summer, as the season approaches, I’ll have an idea of where I want to narrow down where I want to go,” Johnson said. “I plan on having my commitment on senior night, our football night. Hopefully I can have everything situated and know where I want to go by then.

“Who knows? We’ll see when the time comes.”

NUGGETS-IN-WAITING

DL Jayden Wayne, Lincoln (Tacoma, Washington)

CB Caleb Presley, Rainier Beach (Seattle, Washington)

CB Jasiah Wagoner, Spanaway Lake (Spanaway, Washington)

QB Gabarri Johnson, Lincoln (Tacoma, Washington)

LB Isaiah Carlson, Ferndale (Ferndale, Washington)

RB Jayden Limar, Lake Stevens (Lake Stevens, Washington)

TE Riley Williams, Central Catholic (Portland, Oregon)

TE C.J. Jacobsen, Rocky Mountain (Meridian, Idaho)

OL Micah Banuelos, Kennedy Catholic (Burien, Washington)

TE Dorian Thomas, Kentridge (Kent, Washington)

OL Landen Hatchett, Ferndale (Ferndale, Washington)

TE Cooper Jensen, Glacier Peak (Snohomish, Washington)

DE Tristan Davis, Wilsonville (Wilsonville, Oregon)

TNT Preps reporter Jon Manley contributed to this story.

This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.