Jeremiah Johnson is a 12-year-old running back from Fort Worth, Texas. A recent photograph has gone viral and people all over the internet have been left shocked by his mature looks, including his size, facial hair, and apparent tattoo.

Johnson plays for the Dallas Dragons Elite Academy (DEA) youth football team, which won the 2022 Youth National Championships over the weekend in Miami. After the tournament, Johnson was named MVP. The viral photo of him was taken after the championship game while he was holding his MVP trophy that read, “12U Division 1 Most Valuable Player.”

Photograph of Jeremiah Johnson that went viral following a youth football tournament in Miami

After social media began to circulate the picture of Johnson, he appeared in a video where he confirms that his age is 12 years old.

Although he has confirmed that he is indeed 12 years old, not everyone on social media is buying it, including NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill who tweeted, “If that 12 year old really 12 my son not playing football, these kids built different.”

One Twitter user pushed back against the claim that Johnson is 12, pointing out the reasons why he doesn’t believe this is his real age. They wrote, “1. Jeremiah Johnson is one of the most common names out there. 2. The mustache 3. The locks w the pushed back hairline.. Now I’m gonna say 22. I can be convinced on 17-21. But 12 hell naw.”

However, Shana Evans, who appears to be Johnson’s mother, posted to Facebook confirming the age of her son and revealing that the “tattoo” he had on his arm in the viral photo was not a real tattoo.

She wrote,

“Before I lay down I just want y’all to know… my baby going viral. These folks is going in… SO…. Yes he’s on 12U (he meets ALL of the requirements. No the tattoo isn’t real (duh). Yes the goatee is tho.”

Jeremiah Johnson in 2020

In another post, Evans posted a picture of Johnson saying, “Check my baby out… balling out @ Nationals!!!” One of Evans’ friends commented on the post saying exactly what the rest of the internet was thinking: “That ain’t no damn baby!”

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