Paris Johnson Jr.’s first season at Ohio State surely hasn’t gone the way he envisioned it would so far, but his mother is proud of how he’s handled the unfortunate circumstances.
While it remains uncertain when the Buckeyes and the rest of the Big Ten will be back on the field playing football games, Johnson’s goals haven’t changed: He wants to earn a starting job as a freshman, all while also excelling in the classroom, and begin building his legacy at Ohio State as he works toward his ultimate goals of becoming an All-American and getting a tree in Buckeye Grove. And Monica Johnson says he’s putting in the work both on and off the field to keep himself on track to accomplish those goals.
“One thing Paris is committed to doing is continuing to prepare every single day,” Monica Johnson said after last Saturday’s parents’ rally outside Ohio Stadium. “He’s still working out right now, he’s still training. He’s watching extra film, studying that playbook and also, he is excited to take on an extra academic class, so I’m a proud mom for that. He said, ‘Mom, the only thing I can do is control my response, and continue to train every day because game day will come,’ and he said he promises he will be ready.”
Monica Johnson says she’s taught her son to keep a positive mindset, and stay focused on what he can control, and she believes that’s exactly what he’s doing.
“What I’ve taught Paris to do is to remain optimistic, and that he only has control over how he responds,” Johnson said. “Because he can’t control the situation that he’s placed in, but he can still prepare. And one thing Paris is committed to doing is continuing to prepare every single day.”
Several other Ohio State parents have shared similar advice with their sons. Redshirt junior cornerback Shaun Wade has as much hanging in the balance as any Buckeye right now – if the Big Ten doesn’t reverse course and play this fall, his Ohio State career is likely over, as he’ll begin preparing for the 2021 NFL draft rather than play in the spring – but his father Randy has been encouraging him not to let his emotions get too high or too low.
“At the end of the day, they want a leg to stand on. Right now, it’s shaky, man. Because things are changing so much, and it’s hard to believe anything,” Randy Wade said Saturday. “So they don’t want to get too up or too down, and I think Coach Day is handling that well, about just keeping it kind of level, telling them things that he can tell them, but just not telling them everything in case it doesn’t happen.”
CJ Cavazos, the father of freshman cornerback Lejond Cavazos, said he told his son after the Big Ten decided to postpone the season that he can’t dwell on what he can’t change.
“He definitely was hurt, upset and shocked. But he knows at the end of the day that every person has to go through adversity to be great, and you can’t cry over spilled milk,” CJ Cavazos told Eleven Warriors last month. “You can’t sit there and be pissed off at the whole Big Ten and everybody. Because as a 19-year-old freshman, he doesn’t have the power to make that decision. The only decision he has the power to make is to get up and do good in school and work hard and wait for your opportunity.”
Two Ohio State players who have as much reason to be frustrated as anyone are running back Master Teague and wide receiver Kamryn Babb, given what both of those third-year Buckeyes have battled back from to have a chance to play this fall. Babb is finally healthy and ready to play after he missed his first two seasons at Ohio State with knee injuries, while Teague’s father Corey said his son is also fully healthy and ready to go despite the Achilles injury he suffered on the first day of spring practice.
But while their hard work to get back on the field has increased their frustration with being unable to play right now, their parents have been encouraged by how their sons – both of whom lean heavily on their Christian faith – have continued to work toward their opportunities to return to game action whenever they do come.
“He’s been through so much adversity that sometimes, he’s like, ‘Well, we’ll just see what tomorrow brings,’” said Babb’s stepmother Amanda. “You just take things day by day. He relies on his faith, really, and God always has a plan for everything.”
Corey Teague said it “was a miracle in itself” to see his son “come back and be able to practice when the team started practicing and practicing at full speed.”
“To see that opportunity taken from him, in the sense of starting in September, man, that’s a stomach ache. Because he’s ready to go and he still is ready to go,” Teague said. “But I have hope. He’ll get his opportunity, and he’ll do well. So we’re looking forward to it.”
