Take Two: Should Buckeyes be concerned about Johnson Jr.?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.comNational Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
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THE STORYLINE
Paris Johnson Jr. has been committed to Ohio State since last June, but the five-star offensive tackle has kept Buckeyes fans closely watching his recruitment, especially after a round of visits to Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Alabama.
Then word came out in the last few days that Johnson would be transferring from Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier to Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton for his senior season, where he plans to graduate early and enroll in college. Johnson will join four-stars Darrion Henry and Jaheim Thomas at Princeton for his senior year.
The five-star offensive tackle who’s ranked fifth nationally has taken all of those important visits recently but has really given no sign that his commitment to the Buckeyes is in jeopardy. He weathered the transition from coach Urban Meyer to Ryan Day, which was a surprising move for everybody involved, and he’s been to Columbus numerous times.
Is Johnson’s transfer to Princeton so he can graduate early and get on a college campus a great sign for Ohio State? Does it matter to his recruitment at all? And can the Buckeyes keep him in this class, or will another national power be able to come in and steal him?
FIRST TAKE: MARC GIVLER, BUCKEYEGROVE.COM
“I don’t think it’s a major tell. I just think he really wants to graduate early. He has a ton of ability and he’s matured into a college-ready body. At a position where it’s hard to get on the field early, he feels like if he can graduate early he could actually start as a freshman or push to do that. He’s just trying to get himself ahead of the curve wherever he ends up.
“That being said, I do think that Ohio State almost has to give him a reason not to go there (If the Buckeyes struggle this year in Ryan Day’s first season or something like that). It’s going to be difficult to pry him away from Ohio State. Even with all the visits he’s taking he’s still kind of recruiting for them and every time he goes to the South and these visit tours, he always ends up re-visiting Ohio State. Assuming Ohio State can continue to put a good product on the field this fall, it’s going to be difficult to get him to flip.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“I don’t think the change of high school has anything to do with anything. He still considers Ohio State his favorite team and he hasn’t de-committed. He’s taken a lot of visits, so you have to be concerned, but as long as he continues to visit Ohio State, the Buckeyes should be OK. I know Ryan Day as a recruiter, and he’s relentless. And his staff will be relentless. It would be really surprising to see that kid get away from them.”