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- Thread starter MD Buckeye
- Start date
Apparently shared first string reps with NPF at RT. Shows you what the staff this of Paris, wow. Hope he gets some quality PT as we gear up for some combo of NPF, Paris and Dawand at tackle in 2021.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
OFFENSIVE TACKLE PARIS JOHNSON
It would be foolish to count Johnson out. He entered the program in January as the No. 9 overall prospect and the top-rated offensive line recruit. But without a full spring, his odds of overtaking Nicholas Petit-Frere and winning the starting right tackle job take a hit.
In December, Johnson told Eleven Warriors that he wants to own a starting spot by the time preseason camp concluded. That’s still possible. When spring practices began, he was already splitting first-team right tackle reps with Petit-Frere, signaling that Greg Studrawa would give him a fair shot.
But while trying to be the first freshman offensive tackle to start at Ohio State since Orlando Pace, he already had a steep uphill climb that only got steeper.
It would be foolish to count Johnson out. He entered the program in January as the No. 9 overall prospect and the top-rated offensive line recruit. But without a full spring, his odds of overtaking Nicholas Petit-Frere and winning the starting right tackle job take a hit.
In December, Johnson told Eleven Warriors that he wants to own a starting spot by the time preseason camp concluded. That’s still possible. When spring practices began, he was already splitting first-team right tackle reps with Petit-Frere, signaling that Greg Studrawa would give him a fair shot.
But while trying to be the first freshman offensive tackle to start at Ohio State since Orlando Pace, he already had a steep uphill climb that only got steeper.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
OT Paris Johnson
The format rarely does many favors for offensive linemen, especially at Ohio State when one of the most talented groups of pass-rushers are unleashed in a setting where it knows there isn’t going to be much threat of a rush. So, that’s a tall task for any blocker, let alone a true freshman playing in the Horseshoe for the first time. Paris Johnson was already sharing first-team reps on the first day of camp, and while that certainly could have changed over the last few weeks given Nicholas Petit-Frere’s own upside as a former top-ranked recruit at the position, it was a clear sign that Ohio State believes he can compete for a starting job right away. Getting another glimpse at Johnson before the offseason might have kicked the hype into overdrive with a steady performance against the Rushmen.
The format rarely does many favors for offensive linemen, especially at Ohio State when one of the most talented groups of pass-rushers are unleashed in a setting where it knows there isn’t going to be much threat of a rush. So, that’s a tall task for any blocker, let alone a true freshman playing in the Horseshoe for the first time. Paris Johnson was already sharing first-team reps on the first day of camp, and while that certainly could have changed over the last few weeks given Nicholas Petit-Frere’s own upside as a former top-ranked recruit at the position, it was a clear sign that Ohio State believes he can compete for a starting job right away. Getting another glimpse at Johnson before the offseason might have kicked the hype into overdrive with a steady performance against the Rushmen.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Johnson told Eleven Warriors during a January interview.
Throughout his early career, Johnson had been a defensive end, tight end, wide receiver, cornerback and safety. Basically, every position except quarterback and offensive lineman.
“It’s crazy going from that to Lineman of the Year,” Johnson says, referencing that week in Atlanta. “Because at one point, I was probably the worst lineman in America.”
GREAT ARTICLE!!!
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
JOHNSON “WANTED TO PLAY IN A PRO SET”
It's a well-known fact that there was a point in time – after Urban Meyer's retirement – that Paris Johnson Jr. was looking around at other schools in order to make sure that Ohio State, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes' new slew of coaches was going to still be the best fit for him and his future.
There were a lot of reasons he eventually chose to stay committed and sign with the program. Chief among them? The Buckeyes' propensity, more than many other programs, to send offensive linemen to the pros and to get those players more pro-ready than most other programs because of their offensive schemes and play calling.
“College football, every team doesn’t require linemen to have full skillsets,” Willie Anderson, a former four-time NFL Pro Bowl offensive tackle, told Eleven Warriors this week. “Some of these guys get to the NFL and when an NFL coach starts talking to guys, certain things are foreign to guys because they don’t know how to do it. That was one big thing Paris wanted. He wanted to play in a pro set that gets guys ready for pro football. A lot of these colleges, guys are in two-point stances the whole damn game. They don’t have that in the NFL much.”
It makes sense that a player, who has made it his lifelong goal to reach the NFL and provide for his mother and his family, would want to ensure that his college program will be able to make him as pro ready as possible.
There are plenty of other programs that do the same – like Georgia and Stanford, the two programs Johnson was also seriously considering – so there are a lot of other reasons that Ohio State became his choice. But Day's offensive system was a big one, and now that offensive linemen have seen how that system can be beneficial for them, it's become another selling point for the program.
“He had heard that certain linemen from certain schools go to pro football and struggle because they’d never had the verbiage, never had to do certain techniques,” Anderson said. “No knock against Baylor, but you go play offensive line there, offensive linemen are not that important because they’re going so fast.
“You take Ohio State and certain teams, quarterbacks are still taking 5-7-step drops. Linemen gotta pass protect for a certain amount of time. They’re still running the football. It’s a shame because NFL line coaches are all mad at the colleges because guys will come out of college not prepared. It’s harder now because after the CBA agreement, guys don’t have as much time to develop young guys. So out of college, you’ve gotta come with NFL skills already because they don’t have time to teach you, and it’s sad. That’s one of the reasons I started my academy – because linemen gotta have skills. It’s more than just being big. You’ve gotta have a skill set.”
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
Great back story. Now, let's sit back and watch the way it's going to play out on the field. I'm not rooting for anyone of the three in particular, each has their strengths and weaknesses. Getting all three ready is key, as tOSU loses the LT next year, and it'd be nice to have a more seasoned person to slide in there. Not too worried. Envision NPF starting at right, with Paris getting big reps, and Dawand backfilling at LT. Next year, see Paris at LT, with NPF making good noises at RT for his junior year. Dawand still getting big reps, and first tackle off the bench in case of injury. And Dawand playing on field goals, etc.
Part of the reason the OL is so highly thought of, is because the DL is great, and they get to practice against each other every day. Steel sharpens steel, and I'd bet the practices are harder than the games...Go Bucks!
Part of the reason the OL is so highly thought of, is because the DL is great, and they get to practice against each other every day. Steel sharpens steel, and I'd bet the practices are harder than the games...Go Bucks!
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