Ohio State Football: ‘The Magician’ is the top assistant, period!
It’s hard to believe there is a list of top college football assistants and Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson wasn’t ranked in the top 10.
I enjoy reading articles listing top players, teams coaches etc, but one by 247Sports that didn’t include Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson among the top 10 assistant coaches made me scratch my head. He should be ranked No. 1 among assistant coaches every year and then fill out the rest of the top 10.
I first called coach Johnson a ‘Magician’ in October of 2016 and he has yet to prove me wrong. He reminds of the legendary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant.
Many decades ago a coach said the Bear could defeat you with his players but could take yours and beat his. I think if Larry Johnson moved on to another school tomorrow opposing coaches would worry about going up against his defensive line even if his players didn’t perform well the previous year.
Before coach Johnson came to Ohio State he had already built an impressive resume during his many years at Penn State. He had a number of players earn All-American honors and many became high draft picks. His defensive lines always performed well and he was regarded as one of the best coaches in the country.
He has taken things to an even higher level in his six seasons at Ohio State.
During his first year (2014) he had talent to work with but little depth. Defensive end Joey Bosa was named a Freshman All-American in 2013 and Michael Bennett had played well at tackle.
With Bosa’s performance the previous year former DE Adolphus Washington was moved to the middle at nose tackle full-time. Senior Steve Miller and graduate transfer Rashad Frazier played the DE end spot opposite Bosa.
The backups mostly consisted of players who had battled injuries during their Ohio State careers or young guys who had yet to prove themselves. That defensive line played well during the regular season and turned things up a notch in the postseason.
The Wisconsin Badgers’ huge offensive line supposedly would be too much for them in the Big Ten Championship Game though. Ohio State’s 59-0 victory proved otherwise.
But that was against a Big Ten team and Larry Johnson’s crew couldn’t stand up to Alabama’s ground and pound attack, right? They did, and then coach Johnson’s linemen went on to give Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota fits and Ohio State won the first College Football Playoff.
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Rather than go through each season of Johnson’s tenure let’s take a look at the players chosen in the NFL draft he has coached.
2015:
- DT Michael Bennett, 6th round
2016:
- DE Joey Bosa, No. 3 overall pick
- DT Adolphus Washington, 3rd round
2018:
- DE Tyquan Lewis 2nd round
- DE Sam Hubbard 3rd round
- DE Jalyn Holmes 4th round
2019:
- DE Nick Bosa No. 2 overall
- DT Dre’Mont Jones 3rd. Round
That’s just during six years at Ohio State. Wouldn’t most assistants like to have that on their resume after a 30-40 year career?
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Simply put, Larry Johnson is the top assistant coach in college football. When his players talk about the things he teaches them, and how he treats them, it’s easy to understand why he is the best. He is a ‘Magician’.