Jeremiah Johnson, a 12-year-old running back from Fort Worth, Texas, is astounding the internet with his size and maturity.
A photograph of the player sporting what seemed to be facial hair and a tattoo surfaced on social media following the 2022 Youth National Championships in Miami, where he was named MVP over the weekend.
Johnson is pictured holding a plaque that reads “12U Division 1 Most Valuable Player” after his Dallas Dragons Elite Academy (DEA) team won the final game.
In a separate video, Johnson asserts that he is, in fact, 12 years old.
Generation NEXXT, a nationwide child sports school and network based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, posted images of Johnson to Facebook and Instagram, describing him as a football player aged 12 or younger. However, not everyone on the internet is convinced that the phenom is a preteen, and one NFL player is among them.
If my son, who is 12 years old and does not play football, is as old as he appears to be, then these children have constructed alternative football equipment.
Tyreek Hill, a receiver for the Miami Dolphins, tweeted, “If that 12-year-old actually is my son’s age and he’s not playing football, these kids are constructed differently.”
Others on social media speculate on Johnson’s age, with one user writing: “Eighteen.” Jeremiah Johnson is one of the most popular names in existence. 2. The facial hair The locks with the retracted hairline. Now I’m going to say 22. I am persuadable on points 17-21. But 12 hell naw.”
One user tweeted, “There’s no goddamn way this person is 12,” while another added, “I want Jeremiah Johnson’s birth certificate. Not the “I am 12” variety from “Benchwarmers.”
A Twitter account believed to belong to Johnson indicates that he is 198 pounds and 5.11 feet tall. It also indicates that he is college-eligible in 2027.
Shana Evans, who is believed to be Johnson’s mother, posted a photo of him on Facebook with the caption, “Check out my kid… balling out at the Nationals!!!”
Monday, in a different Facebook post, Evans wrote, “Before I lay down, I just wanted to let y’all know that my baby is going viral. These people are entering… SO…. Yes, he is on the 12U team (he meets ALL standards). No, the tattoo is fake (duh). However, the goatee is not.”
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