Patchogue-Medford football star Andrew Johnstone is one of Long Island's most sought-after college recruits

Patchogue-Medford’s Andrew Johnstone spent the summer a bit differently than the average high school student.

Days began at 6 a.m. with weightlifting, something that’s become the norm for the 6-6, 278-pound junior who plays tight end, offensive tackle and defensive end for the football team. Then came the individual drills working alongside his 13-year-old brother, Jake, a fellow giant at 6-2, 275 pounds.

“I like dominating the sport,” Johnstone said. “I’ve always been bigger than everyone else, and I think all the aspects football has — lifting, the different positions I play — I feel like it’s very hard to get tired of it. That’s why I love it.”

Five years ago, the thought of college football didn’t cross Johnstone’s mind. That’s for someone who played in Florida or Texas, he thought, not someone from a public school out east on Long Island.

“My hard work and talent, I believe, will put me on the map,” Johnstone said. “And that’s got all these scouts and schools’ attention; what I put on film and how I worked out.”

Today, Johnstone is the highest-rated football recruit on Long Island and a three-star recruit by 247Sports, which ranks him as the fourth-best offensive tackle prospect in New York and 43rd in the 2028 recruiting class. He’s received offers from eight schools, including Wisconsin, UMass, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Virginia, UConn, West Virginia and Penn State, with more visits and interest to come.

“I’m still very broad in the process,” Johnstone said. “I look for what school is going to get me to the next level and what coach is going to have my best interests in mind to get me there.”

Johnstone comes from a football family, watching Commanders and Syracuse football games with his father, Michael, who played Division II football at the University of New Haven after graduating from East Islip.

He finished his junior season Saturday with 42 tackles, 19 for a loss, with four sacks and two forced fumbles. Johnstone caught 10 passes for 180 yards and ran 13 times for 41 yards and five touchdowns.

“He’s an unselfish football player,” Patchogue-Medford coach Greg Murphy said. “There was never any gripe about not catching the ball or having the opportunity to do it. It was just, ‘Where do you need me?’”

Johnstone left one of his best games for last, paving the way for Patchogue-Medford’s 34-7 win in Suffolk I at Central Islip Saturday as he ran for four touchdowns on four carries for 18 yards. He added four tackles, all for a loss, and two sacks. Kevin Parker ran 19 times for 152 yards and made four tackles, one for a loss. He also had a sack.

Murphy, in his second year at Patchogue-Medford and 30th in his coaching career, recalled tight ends Tom Burzine of Connetquot and Tom Nealis of Miller Place, players he coached who played at Toledo and Pittsburgh, respectively.

“I saw Andrew in that mold, and I really thought his next level was going to be a tight end, offensive lineman, at that Division I level,” Murphy said.

Longwood’s football team faced Patchogue-Medford in September, with Lions coach Craig Kluber remembering how Johnstone matched up as a defensive end on Longwood’s 6-5, 305-pound right tackle Eddie Princivil.

“He went toe-for-toe with Princivil,” Kluber said. “It was like a clash of the titans. When you’re that big, it’s not normal for a guy that size to move the way he does.”

Johnstone also played baseball, with this last spring being his final one, and plays for Patchogue-Medford’s basketball team under coach Tim Trava in the winter.

“I know the kid’s going to be a Division I football player, and he’s never going to play basketball again after next year,” Trava said. “But he allows me to coach him hard in the sport that’s not even his first sport. And when he’s with us, he’s 100% basketball. He’s locked in, a leader and a great kid.”

Johnstone said he’s not concerned about rankings or ratings, preferring to “not get too high or too low” on any given day or play. But when his gas tank starts running on empty — if that’s even possible — late in a game, what does he think about?

“I think all the sacrifices that I’ve made for the sport is what motivates me,” Johnstone said. “All those days in the summer that I’ve woken up at 6 a.m. to get my butt in the weight room, all those long nights in the summer, all those field workouts, the late hours of practice, that motivates me because I’m doing it for a reason.

“And those moments in the third and fourth quarters are the reasons for it.”