After Paris Johnson Jr. committed to Ohio State just over a year ago, right before his junior season, the five-star offensive tackle's pledge was as solid as possible.
He showed up to as many games at Ohio Stadium as possible during the Buckeyes' 2018 season, acting as a de facto recruiter. That shifted when Urban Meyer retired, though, which led him to take visits – both official and unofficial – to LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia this spring.
Geaux Tigers. pic.twitter.com/u89XRNZ4r5
— Paris Johnson Jr. (@ParisJohnsonJr) March 25, 2019
One of the reasons for taking those trips was to do so with his Princeton High School teammates and friends, four-star defensive tackle Darrion Henry and four-star outside linebacker Jaheim Thomas. Henry committed to Ohio State over the weekend, and Johnson, naturally, was in attendance to support him.
"It feels good that we both chose this route. We’ll be able to play together in high school and make that transition together to Ohio State," Johnson told Eleven Warriors at Henry's ceremony on Saturday.
As he mentioned, Johnson will be able to play with Henry in high school for their senior seasons after he transferred Cincinnati high schools, moving from St. Xavier to Princeton in part due to St. Xavier not allowing him to graduate early and enroll in college in January. With that, Johnson is excited for his family and friends in the community to be able to watch him play for a school he grew up watching himself.
"I feel like it's big in the community and for my family," Johnson said. "For my family, this is big. They live in this area and they are gonna find it easy to come watch me so it’ll be more enjoyable for the family, and playing with Darrion is going to be fun too. It’s going to be a show for the people in the stands, it's very exciting."
Of course, the main topic with Johnson is his commitment status to Ohio State. For a while, it seemed as though he could end up elsewhere, likely at an SEC school. That now appears much less likely.
This summer, Johnson says he is slowing down everything and isn't taking any visits anywhere.
"Being able to change from Cincy to Columbus is big because Columbus is a big market and an opportunity to put my talents on a national stage and be able to represent the state of Ohio," Johnson said. "Ohio State has talent from other regions too, and being able to bring championships back to Ohio is something that people are very passionate about here. Whenever something great happens in Ohio, people love to talk about it."
The importance of the addition of Johnson's good friend, Henry, to Ohio State's 2020 class cannot be understated. Along with Henry being a talented player in his own right, the fact that Ohio State was able to land him along with Johnson relatively early speaks volumes for the emphasis that coach Ryan Day has placed on recruiting the Cincinnati area.
— Paris Johnson Jr. (@ParisJohnsonJr) June 29, 2019
The Buckeyes now have four 2020 commitments from Cincinnati. Johnson and Henry are the two top prospects in Ohio, and they are joined by three-star offensive lineman Jakob James and top-ranked kicker Jake Siebert. Ohio State is also the leader for tight end Joe Royer. Day has said that he is prioritizing recruiting the state of Ohio, and his actions back that up.
As for Johnson, the visits will stop, at least for now, and he is focused on the 2019 season, his last before coming to Columbus.
