Few, if any, starts to college camp season have been more hectic or more fruitful than Ju'Juan Johnson's.

The 2024 Lafayette Christian standout participated in three camps in three different states and one 7-on-7 tournament in an eight-day span, along with his new juggling act of an offseason training regiment.

But Johnson has never been much for sitting still, and he said the rewards of his first six scholarship offers help make any early or late flight or workout more than easy to embrace.

"When the first one came it, it was crazy," he said. "That's all I've been dreaming about is making it to the next level, making it to the next level, so it was just crazy when the first one came. And then after the first one, it was just like they just kept coming in one after another.

"It's been a crazy eight days, honestly. Thankful. Thankful to God and all the things that he's blessed me with. I'm just grateful for that."

The first four offers — Nebraska, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and LSU — came over three days on the heels of camps in Lincoln, Neb., and Baton Rouge.

UTSA followed two days later, and then Vanderbilt this weekend during a camp in Nashville, Tenn.

"I always knew (my recruitment) was going to start, but I didn't know it was going to be crazy like this going back-to-back-to-back like this," he said.

The fast and furious start is par for the course for a young athlete whose high school career began in a quicker, more pressure-packed fashion than anticipated.

A first-quarter injury to Lafayette Christian's senior quarterback thrust the baby-faced freshman into immediate action in the 2020 season opener, after a COVID-limited offseason, against reigning Class 5A champion Acadiana.

"I'm not gonna lie: It was very nerve-racking," he admitted with a smile. "Just a freshman going in against a 5A school, Acadiana, a powerhouse, they've got a great defense. It was nerve-racking. And it was my first time in front of a big crowd, everyone wanted to be at the game. I just had to take it all in."

The Knights battled the Wreckin' Rams that night in a televised game — staying within 7-0 until a pair of late touchdowns stretched the margin — and won their next nine en route to a fourth straight state championship with Johnson continuing to earn playing time even when Ryan Roberts, now at McNeese State, returned.

Johnson attacked the subsequent offseason hungry for further development through outdoor track season, 7-on-7 season and other training, including workout sessions with Louisiana (Lafayette) quarterback Levi Lewis.

He took a notable step forward as a sophomore with more speed, skill and confidence, earned all-state honorable mention recognition and led LCA to a fifth straight title game.

"(The early experience) helped me mature," he said. "It helped me get the game faster, just to read faster and do things a faster way. A guy like me that got an early start, an early jump to it, it helped me a lot in just the confidence of it. I already played with the big boys.

"So when I got on the field my sophomore year, and I started, it was easier for me to just come in the game and do it because I'd already had looks at it as a freshman."

But the 5-foot-10, 175-pound athlete recognized some of his highest-level college opportunities could come at other positions and began preparing for camp season accordingly.

"The Monday, the Wednesday and the Thursday, that's my quarterback days," he said. "And the Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, that's all my DB days, so I go out there with (teammate) Ty Lee, another great 2024 cornerback, and we work and we work and we work. And some days I might go out there with (Baton Rouge trainer) Ken (Anio) and put in work, work, work.

"For me, it's balancing the QB and the DB work and drills. I've got to just keep working at both of them and getting better at both."

The dividends speak for themselves with the offers rolling in an all the programs eying him as primarily a defensive back.

Home-state LSU, with its D-B-U tradition, was a particularly meaningful moment for a local athlete who said, even as a young quarterback, former Tigers defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was one of his favorite football players.

"It's crazy to think that," Johnson said. "It obviously always has been a dream since I lived in Louisiana to get an LSU offer. And to see that come true, and to see all the guys that are already there that I know.

"They've got (former teammates) Sage Ryan, Fitzgerald West and (Jordan Allen), (other Lafayette friends) Laterrance Welch, Malik Nabers, Jack Bech and (Kayshon Boutte), it's just crazy to be a part of that group now. And (teammate and fellow 2024 target) Melvin Hills now, it's just crazy."

Johnson returned to campus five days after the offer to quarterback the Knights, coached by former LSU linebacker Trev Faulk, into LSU's annual 7-on-7 tournament.

Rising senior passers Arch Manning and Rickie Collins of Newman and Woodlawn (Baton Rouge), respectively, were among the headline prospects on hand that garnered attention from LSU coaches and players, other Louisiana college coaches and media.

But Johnson, the future defensive back, stepped up and made his share of the day's top throws as well, including well-placed deep balls in head-to-head matchups with the Greenies and Panthers.

"One thing: I love competing," he said. "That's my favorite is just competing with somebody or with a team. So just me wanting to compete and having my team around me, 'Oh, you've got to go compete against Arch,' or just knowing that, I love the pressure. So when people put pressure on me, it just makes me want to work more.

"It's just fun competing and going against the bigger teams. That's why I like our schedule next year. We're going against some dogs, some good teams. I love that."

Johnson will continue his travels at Alabama and Jackson State before the attention returns fully to Lafayette Christian's quest this fall for a potential sixth straight state championship game and fifth title in six years.

But, for the first time, the Knights will play in Class 4A in a district that includes fellow recent state champions in St. Thomas More and Westgate

"Really nothing has changed, but our mentality," he said. "Our mentality's different now. Coach Trev will stay the same. He's stayed the same coach Trev from last year or two years ago. It's just now our mindset's changed. Now we want it more."