Ryan Day played coy when asked Monday who his 85th scholarship player is.
Unless a walk-on was moved up to scholarship status, Ohio State would be one under the limit with the 2022 season approaching. But Day stood firm that the Buckeyes hadn’t made any arithmetic errors, asserting “No, we’re at 85.”
Perhaps a longstanding Buckeye contributor like Xavier Johnson had earned a scholarship during fall camp without the program providing any official notice. Day never confirmed which Buckeye it was, but did he say “it may have been a little bit further back” that a walk-on player was put on scholarship, unbeknownst to the general public.
It took an interview with Johnson himself to determine he was the Buckeye in question after all, and the fifth-year Cincinnati native – after glancing at an Ohio State spokesperson to determine whether he should reveal the news – said he’s been on scholarship for nearly a full year already.
“I am on scholarship. I got put on scholarship against Oregon last year,” Johnson said after practice Wednesday. “But it was one of those things where my main focus was going out and keeping the focus on the game. So it wasn't a big parade. It wasn't one of those big things where the team huddles up and there's a big celebration. My main focus was going to get that win. We came up a little short, but just wanted to keep everything on the team.”
Johnson’s team-first approach only further illustrates why he was elevated to a scholarship position in the first place. Johnson spent his first three full seasons at Ohio State as a walk-on and has bounced around from position to position on both sides of the ball, including cornerback, running back and wideout. Johnson has also been a fixture on special teams, where he’s been among the team leaders in snaps played in recent years.
But Johnson seems to have found a home in Brian Hartline’s wide receivers room, where he’s earned plenty of preseason praise with his playmaking on the practice field. In fact, Johnson appears to have cracked the two-deep amid a loaded stable of four- and five-star talents.
“If anything, it made me hungrier. It kind of put me in a position where I am getting some playing time or opportunity for some playing time this year.”– Xavier Johnson on earning a scholarship
When asked to name his top six wideouts this week, Hartline listed Johnson fifth, behind only Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison, Julian Fleming and Emeka Egbuka – all expected to start games at some point this season.
“I was really impressed with Xavier Johnson,” Hartline said in May. “He did a really good job. He really has embodied all the roles he's done and the hats he's worn and I just really think he did a great job in every opportunity he got.”
As a player that has “had to wear a lot of hats” positionally, Hartline said it’s been hard for Johnson to truly make headway at one spot in years past. But now, Johnson looks closer than ever before to making a real impact on the field if called upon to do so.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Johnson said he’s played mostly in the slot this preseason, but could line up at any of the Buckeyes’ three receiver positions when the season starts.
Don't sleep on Xavier Johnson... Filthy one-handed catch on the sideline and nice foot work on both of these plays. pic.twitter.com/8ccZ6n9fdP
— Justin Holbrock (@NBC4Justin) April 2, 2022
“I am working in the slot. But it's a testament to Coach Hart, it's a testament to this room, we don't really have positions,” Johnson said. “So you could see me in the slot one drive or you could see me on the outside one drive, and it's the same for others. So Coach Hart has kind of tried to train us multifacetedly. So there's no set spot for anybody. We know the whole offense and I think that's gonna make us dangerous. Because you can't really predict anything.”
A recent season-ending injury suffered by second-year running back Evan Pryor called into question whether or not Johnson would need to switch positions once again. Having spent plenty of time in Tony Alford’s position room, Johnson figured to be an ideal candidate to fill in as an emergency backup now that the Buckeyes have just three healthy scholarship running backs on the roster.
Johnson said he hasn’t taken any reps at running back since Pryor went down, but he would make the adjustment if the coaching staff asked him to.
“I've been a part of five teams now, and I would say that this is definitely one of the teams that has the most love, most chemistry. So just for that reason and that reason alone, shoot, I would ask the Lord for strength to help me through the situation and then go in there and get my notebook out, my iPad out and figure out exactly what they need me to do,” Johnson said. “I'm just here to kind of help the team win and glorify the Lord by doing it.”
Just the 1,138th-ranked recruit in the nation when he entered the program, Johnson's dedication to the success of the team – even if it occasionally comes at his own expense –has garnered Johnson no shortage of admiration from his teammates and coaching staff.
“I don’t care if you were a walk-on, a five-star recruit, first-team, fifth-team, it doesn’t matter, everybody goes through stuff. All Xavier has done – in my eyes – is continue to persevere and find ways to overcome whatever was happening,” Alford said during the preseason. “He didn’t point fingers, but kind of pointed them at himself and said, ‘Where can I get better? If there’s an issue going on, how can I make it better by some of the changes that I have to make?’
“He didn’t find excuses for this or that not happening, he just found ways to overcome and persevere. But that’s a microcosm of how he lives his life, not just in this building … I love that kid.”
As much as Johnson has served the Buckeye program behind the scenes, his motivation to make a difference when the lights are brightest is at an all-time high after earning his scholarship last year. Luckily for Johnson, his opportunity to do so has never been greater.
“If anything, it made me hungrier,” Johnson said. “It kind of put me in a position where I am getting some playing time or opportunity for some playing time this year. And just with that knowledge and that expectation, it just has kind of made me more hungry.”
