The recruitment of five-star offensive tackle Paris Johnson has been one with a few twists and turns. Johnson verbally committed to Ohio State back in June of 2018, but since then, there have been visits to other schools and speculation that he might be open to a change in heart.
He put that all to rest at Cincinnati Princeton’s media day Monday. When speaking to 247Sports‘ recruiting guru Bill Kurelic, Johnson shut down any wiggle room for any sort of overtures from anyone besides Ohio State.
“It’s a done deal,” said Johnson when discussing the OSU program on Monday. He reiterated that he’s signing with the Buckeyes and ending his recruitment.
For Ryan Day and the OSU, it’s great news. There have been plenty of signs pointing to Johnson sticking with his pledge to Ohio State, but since he committed when Urban Meyer was head coach, there was a feeling out period between him, his family and new head coach Ryan Day.
That has apparently gone very well with Day forging a relationship of openness, trust and honesty.
But things were tedious for awhile. There was even real interest in Johnson’s re-engagement with schools like LSU and Georgia, but that can all end now.
The Buckeyes can now relax a bit knowing that they’ll have the state of Ohio’s No. 1 recruit, and the best offensive tackle and seventh overall recruit in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Now about the running back position …
