Cornell Johnson said he planned to play football at Kansas State.

His mother said he was going to Kansas University.

His high school coach claimed they were both wrong.

What is known about Johnson is that he was one of the best high school running backs in the nation last season at Desert Pines High in Las Vegas. What’s unclear is where the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder will end up this fall.

“I haven’t heard anything about the kid going to Kansas State,” Desert Pines coach Leon Evans told the Journal-World in a phone interview. “We have no idea about it. I wish I had some answers for you guys.”

The “guys” in question are reporters, and Evans has heard from plenty of them since a story appeared on rivals.com outlets GoPowercat.com and Jayhawkslant.com Tuesday.

Johnson recently told rivals.com he had signed a national letter of intent with Kansas State Feb. 7, two days after signing day, but that it had been kept secret because he hadn’t qualified academically at the time.

Johnson’s mother, Cynthia, contradicted that report when she told rivals.com that her son was going to Kansas.

Evans told the Journal-World the All-America running back had not signed a letter of intent with any school, and athletic director Gertha Robinson confirmed that in an interview with Cable 6 Sports.

KU coach Mark Mangino was at a camp Thursday in Stilwell and could not be reached for comment, but the coach would not be able to comment on Johnson if the Jayhawks are recruiting him.

According to rivals.com, Johnson has offers from Kansas and UNLV but not K-State.

Sources, however, say it’s likely Johnson is headed to the junior college route.

It’s not hard to understand why rebuilding teams like KU and UNLV would be willing to take a chance on a strong, speedy back who was rated 13th in the nation by rivals.com and played in the All-American Bowl in January at San Antonio.

The all-state selection rushed for 5,341 yards and 78 touchdowns during the last three seasons, including state-leading totals of 2,105 yards and 37 TDs as a senior. After leading his team to the state title game, he narrowed his recruiting choices to UCLA, Oklahoma and Miami.

Some schools backed off, though, because Johnson hadn’t qualified academically. He visited UNLV in December and made campus visits to Oregon State and UCLA in January. When signing day rolled around Feb. 5, Johnson was preparing to take the ACT again that weekend.

“After signing day, when he hadn’t qualified, the phone calls here stopped completely,” Evans said.

Johnson later garnered a qualifying test score, and March 26 the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the running back planned to sign with Florida Atlantic — which is not normally mentioned with the likes of Miami, UCLA and Oklahoma. Johnson never signed with FAU, and his test score was red-flagged by the NCAA.

Desert Pines teacher Julie Meyer-Carl told rivals.com that Johnson was still trying to get through the NCAA Clearinghouse and was making plans to attend a junior college.

Meyer-Carl could not be reached for comment by the Journal-World.

Tracking down Johnson also proved difficult. Evans said none of the coaches knew a phone number for Johnson’s mother — or even her last name. Evans said it was probably a moot point because the running back rarely stayed home.

“The kid has been living with people all over the city,” Evans said. “He has a lot of problems.”

Evans admitted his staff was in the dark about Johnson’s future, in part because coaches hadn’t seen much of him recently at school.

Asked if he thought Johnson had met graduation requirements, Evans said, “Probably.”

Asked if he thought the running back would qualify, Evans said, “If that test score stands he will.”

Where Johnson will play remains a mystery.