Paris Johnson Jr. is going pro.
The Buckeyes' starting left tackle announced that he's declaring for the 2023 NFL draft following three seasons at Ohio State and two as a full-time starter.
Thank you Buckeye Nation.. pic.twitter.com/81aIjLhGxq
— Paris Johnson Jr. (@ParisJohnsonJr) January 10, 2023
A five-star recruit in the 2020 class, the Cincinnati native and Princeton High School product started all 13 games at right guard for Ohio State as a true sophomore and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference's coaches in 2021. A natural offensive tackle, Johnson played inside to aid an offensive line that had a surplus of standout tackles including Dawand Jones and NFL draftees Nicholas Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford.
Johnson moved out to left tackle to start his junior season, though, and reaped the benefits straight away. Starting all 13 games in 2022, Johnson finished the year as a consensus first-team All-American, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, a Lombardi Award finalist and an Outland Trophy semifinalist.
Johnson's charitable foundation, the Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation, earned the Armed Forces Merit Award in November, an honor given annually to an individual and/or a group with a military background and/or involvement that has an impact within the realm of college football. Since Johnson launched his foundation, he has raised more than $10,000 for five different charities and served over 100 veterans.
Johnson will also leave Ohio State with a degree in journalism after graduating from the university in just three years.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pound lineman anchored an Ohio State offense that finished the 2021 season with the No. 1 total offense in the country, and a unit that ranked ninth in the country in the same statistic in 2022.
Johnson is widely projected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming draft, with ESPN rating Johnson the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2023 draft class.
