Paris

Johnson Jr.

Johnson (6'6/315) outdid himself in 2021, putting quarterback CJ Stroud in an advantageous situation on every single play purely looking at his individual performance. According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson didn’t allow a single sack in 2021. With the trajectory Stroud is on in 2022, potentially the best quarterback in the nation, this will certainly be something that benefits him.

Johnson (6'6/315) was the 11th ranked overall player from the 2020 prep class and is widely considered to be one of the top players eligible for the 2023 NFL Draft. According to PFF, he played 461 pass block snaps without allowing a sack last season. Johnson did allow 14 pressures over that span and was awarded a middling 65.4 PFF pass blocking grade despite not allowing a sack, so apparently PFF thinks there is still work to be done. Though there is room for him to improve, Johnson is listed at +1,500 to be the first overall selection in next year’s draft.

With Harry Miller not traveling with the team, freshman Luke Wypler makes his debut. The starting linemen tonight will be Nicholas Petit-Frere, Thayer Mumford, Luke Wypler, Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones.

Johnson (6'7/285) trailed Georgia TE Arik Gilbert and Clemson DT Bryan Bresee -- both of whom drew eight votes -- in this informal poll. A five-star recruit out of Cincinnati, Johnson initially pledged to the Buckeyes in the summer of 2018 and held firm to that commitment through his signing day this winter. Johnson landed on the ESPN 300 as the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2020 class.

Johnson (6'7/295) has been committed to the Buckeyes since last June. While he is keeping his options open -- he has visited Georgia three times this spring and has an official set up with LSU for later this month -- the Cincinnati native told 247Sports that he feels as though things are coming along well with OSU. In particular, he is feeling more and more comfortable with HC Ryan Day (Johnson initially slowed his roll with the program following Urban Meyer’s retirement). On the 247Sports composite board, Johnson slots in as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2020 class.

Johnson (6'7/295) is considered by many recruiting analysts to be the top tackle in the Class of 2020, and getting him on campus is certainly a positive for LSU HC Ed Orgeron and his staff. The five-star tackle verbally committed to Ohio State last June, and since then many power conference programs have looked to get involved in his recruitment. Johnson is one of three Princeton HS (Cincinnati) prospects who have official visits to LSU set up for this month, with four-star DE Darrion Henry and four-star LB Jaheim Thomas both expected to make their trips the weekend of May 10.

Can’t say that Johnson failed to explore his options. The 6-foot-7, 285-pounder took a number of unofficial visits this offseason, including trips to Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford and UCLA. For all of that traveling, no school received more trips from Johnson than Ohio State, and the Cincinnati native ultimately decided that -- at least at this juncture -- he’d prefer to stick close to home. The 247Sports composite board views Johnson as the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2020 class. While OSU has picked up just three pledges from the 2020 cycle to date, the Buckeyes recruiting engine will no doubt get things revved up over the coming months. The main focus right now is on the 2019 class.

Despite the entire SEC apparently chomping at the bit to flip Johnson, the Buckeyes have done a nice job to keep him in the fold. This is a particularly impressive feat given that OSU is still moving through the coaching transition from Urban Meyer -- who initially landed the 6-foot-7, 285-pounder’s pledge -- to Ryan Day. Day has done stellar work to keep the recruiting ship afloat (we have seen just two decommitments), with Johnson explaining to Rivals that the two have been in very regular contact. Just where Ohio State lands with the 2020 class in terms of team rankings will be something that we will be monitoring over the coming months. We would not be stunned if Day crushes it when all is said and done. For his part, Johnson lands as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2020 class.

While the five-star tackle has been an Ohio State commit since June 2018, the coaching change from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day led to his reevaluating his options. But after taking official visits to LSU and Georgia Johnson (6'7/285) took an official to Ohio State, and the time he’s been able to spend getting to know Day better made him feel secure in his decision. According to Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts, Johnson called it a “done deal” during his high school’s preseason media day. Locking up the elite tackle’s pledge is huge news for Ohio State, which has 22 verbal commits in its 2020 class to date.

Johnson (6'7/285) has been committed to the Buckeyes since late June of 2018, but even with that pledge longstanding, OSU had best not rest on its laurels during this weekend’s official visit. The Cincinnati native earlier this offseason took OVs to LSU and Georgia, with the Tigers perhaps the big program to keep an eye on if there’s to be any flip in the offing, here. 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong compares Johnson to longtime NFL lineman Andrew Whitworth.