Ohio State held its Senior Tackle on Saturday, and the participants included one notable Buckeye who was not among the players honored on Senior Day.
While Paris Johnson Jr. is only in his third year at Ohio State, he is set to graduate from the university this weekend and is widely expected to enter the 2023 NFL draft as a projected first-round pick. Although Johnson has said he will not make a decision on his future until after the season, the picture Ohio State posted Saturday of its Senior Tackle participants seemingly provides a clue into which way he’s leaning.
senior tackle #gobucks pic.twitter.com/9EfsQTKGyU
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 17, 2022
Johnson was one of 19 players who participated in Saturday’s Senior Tackle, per the photo posted by Ohio State. All of the other 18 participants – including redshirt junior Ronnie Hickman, who has already confirmed he will enter the 2023 NFL draft – were among the Buckeyes who went through Senior Day festivities before the Michigan game.
Those participants included Marcus Crowley and Harry Miller, who both retired from football during the offseason for medical reasons but have continued to spend time with the team this season.
Senior Day honorees Mitch Rossi, Bradley Robinson, Josh Proctor, Matt Jones and Michael O’Shaughnessy were not pictured among the Senior Tackle participants. While Rossi and Robinson are both set to exhaust their eligibility, Jones, Proctor and O’Shaughnessy could all still use the additional year of eligibility the NCAA gave all players in 2020.
Ohio State has traditionally held its Senior Tackle during its final practice before the Michigan game, but opted to postpone this year’s celebration of the seniors to bowl practices, as Ryan Day wanted the Buckeyes to be able to spend more time preparing for The Game and be able to spend time with their families on Thanksgiving.
“We’ve got so much riding on this game, we just want to make sure the focus is on the team up north,” Day said at the time.
