Amid a small cluster of reporters, Brennan Presley spotted his teammate walking out of the Sherman E. Smith Training center.

“It really should be Boogie though (talking to the media),” Presley said. “I mean, six for 90 as a true freshman…” Presley had the stat line of Stephon Johnson Jr. or Boogie, as his teammates call him, spot on. Johnson Jr. caught six passes against the Longhorns, more than doubling his receptions this season. The 90 yards were second most of any pass catcher in the game.

The true freshman from DeSoto, Texas, started fall camp fourth or fifth string on the depth chart OSU offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said. On Saturday, his consistency in practice and injuries to receivers Braydon Johnson and Jaden Bray led to Johnson Jr. starting the Homecoming weekend football game and having the best performance of his young career.

Stephon Johnson, Johnson Jr.’s dad, knew the moment wouldn’t be too big for his son.

In eighth grade, Johnson Jr. played in the All-American game in Beaver Stadium on the campus of Penn State. Last year, HBO worked on a video project around the Desoto football team, so cameras were a constant.

Attention has never bothered Stephon Jr. As a baby, whenever he heard music or felt the mood, Stephon Jr. would smile and dance. His mother started calling him Boogie, and Johnson Sr. accidentally brought the nickname beyond the walls of the house because he didn’t like saying his own name when talking to his son in public.

So of course, the spectacle of sold-out Boone Pickens Stadium didn’t make Johnson Jr. flinch.

“None of that really shocked him, it was just backyard football to him,” Johnson said.

Dunn recalled a Bedlam game in Norman where former OSU receiver James Washington came to the sideline flabbergasted by the number of fans watching. Johnson Jr. avoided getting overwhelmed, something even a second-round NFL draft pick like Washington couldn’t do.

“It doesn’t faze him,” Dunn said. “A lot of it is just his character, a lot of it seems to be who he is, nothing seems to really bother the kid.”

Johnson Jr. put a lot of people on notice Saturday, but not his teammates and coaches. They already knew what Johnson Jr. could do.

“He’s going to be something nice, something crazy,” running back Jaden Nixon said. “I’m excited to watch him in the future. Just watch him at practice, it’s honestly no worries just how nice he is. I remember one time at practice he just went up and made a one-hand snag and everybody was like ‘Wow.’” Toward the end of practices, Dunn said young players work into the rotation in what is essentially a mini scrimmage. He said those snaps add up and contribute to how someone so far down the depth chart in Fall camp is starting games and contributing on Saturdays.

OSU receiver Brennan Presley said he sees consistency from Johnson Jr. in practice, which is in his mind one of the most important things a football player can do.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, with football especially,” Presley said. “With injuries and stuff like that if you can continually be consistent in your plays and the plays that you are making, that means (coaches) trust you to keep doing what you’re doing whether that’s in practice or in games.”

Johnson, owner of Coast-2Coast Athletics, reverted back to his coaching mentality when talking about consistency. He said it’s difficult for young athletes to balance the time management, training and rest needed for a stable presence.

That’s why he wants to see his son’s consistency become long term.

“This is just the beginning, it’s very early, you got to stay healthy, got to stay locked in,” Johnson said. “I believe he will, but me, the proof is always in the pudding. Regardless of what we say we still got to go out and produce and that’s what we have to wait and see if he’ll be able to produce consistently and how they’re going to fit that in with Braydon coming back whenever that is.”