By MONTE DUTTON

School’s out for Zay Johnson.

Until January, that is. Clinton High School’s Shrine Bowl defensive back graduated on Tuesday morning. He’ll enroll at the University of Cincinnati in January. He has been unwavering in his commitment to the Bearcats for most of a year, and he wants to get started right away.

He was the first Red Devil to play in the Shrine Bowl since 1992. The Sandlappers shut out the Tarheels, 24-0. Johnson helped shore up a defense that pitched a shutout. He was on TV talking about it.

What impressed him most about the Shrine Bowl? Visiting with the kids at Shriners Hospital.

“Seeing those kids made me see what the game is really about and who we’re playing it for,” he said. “It motivated me all the more because you could be like that one day. You never know, and it just shows the game has a big impact keeping the hospital strong.

“It’s an amazing feeling, being with some little kids, playing games with them and seeing how much they really look up to us. I just didn’t realize.”

That’s the kid his Clinton head coach, Corey Fountain, talked about. All in. Decisive. Dedicated to a cause. More than anything else, Johnson is a fine, earnest young man with his heart in the right place. Johnson isn’t perfect. He probably has his flaws. It’s just that no one can think of any.

Cincinnati is in the Big 12, which, if all goes well, will take Johnson all over because that’s what Power Five conferences do nowadays. He said he always wanted to get out of South Carolina to go to college. Playing for the Bearcats will take him about everywhere else.

To be specific, the current Big 12 has members in eight states: Texas (Baylor, Houston, Texas Christian, Texas Tech), Utah (Brigham Young), Oklahoma (Oklahoma State), Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State), Iowa (Iowa State), Ohio (Cincinnati), West Virginia (West Virginia) and Florida (Central Florida).

Besides, Sandy Koufax, Oscar Robertson and the Kelce brothers went there.

First and foremost, Johnson liked Cincinnati, particularly the defensive-backs coach, Kerry Coombs, whom he called “one of the best of the best.”

“What drew me to Cincinnati was definitely the coaching staff,” he said. “Cincinnati was way more invested in me than other schools. They showed me how much they cared about me, and I made that decision.

“I just want to go to be developed, and I feel like Coach Coombs is the best person to help me with that.”

Scott Satterfield, who just finished his first year at the helm, formerly served as head coach at Appalachian State and Louisville. The Bearcats went 3-9. As recently as 2021, they finished 13-1, losing only to Alabama.

Johnson is a loyal young man. A few schools tried to lure him away from Cincinnati. In fact, a few tried to lure him away from Clinton High.

He is going to the college he chose, and he is secure in the soundness of the decision. In the tumult and disorder of the transfer protocol, when many colleges are recruiting one another at the expense of developing high-school athletes, Johnson’s position is enviable.

“I was pretty thrilled when [Cincinnati] offered me,” Johnson said. “I went up there, and I got to talk to all the coaches. They treated me and my family with much more respect.”

It’s seven hours away by interstate: 26 to 40 to 75, through Asheville, N.C., Knoxville, Tenn., and Lexington, Ky. He’ll get to know the route well.

Merry Christmas. I’m thankful for your support, whether by advertising, contributing or reading.

Thanks so much for the recent contributions. My goal is to provide unique coverage of local sports. I’m aware that folks appreciate what I do, particularly the kids, coaches, parents and fans.

I used to list an address to send a check (DHK Sports, P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C. 29325). I finally got it through my thick head that not that many people write checks nowadays. For example, me. A more convenient means might be sending a reasonable contribution to DHK Sports on Venmo.

Support the advertisers, and help keep the site – the game stories, the blogs, the photos – alive by making, if you choose, a monthly donation via Patreon. The Laurens County site is here. The Furman site is here.

Another way I can make a little is if you purchase my books at MonteDutton.net. They’re quite entertaining in spite of the fellow who wrote them. Two of my novels, Cowboys Come Home and Lightning in a Bottle, are available in audio versions. The latest, The Latter Days, is about baseball.

Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.