The Ohio State football program was looking at possibly replacing Larry Johnson in the offseason. That was because Johnson was considering retiring before the Spring, but he decided to stay. He didn't make that decision officially until Spring practice was already underway.
A certain segment of the fanbase was hoping that Johnson would ride off into the sunset and retire. Despite all that he's done for the Buckeyes over the years, he hasn't been able to recruit at the same rate that he did earlier in his coaching career. It seems that part of that might be due to laziness.
New defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has had to take a bigger role in recruiting than was expected from him because Johnson can't seem to be bothered to hit the recruiting trail. This is something that should be extremely concerning to fans of the Buckeyes.
Ohio State football fans should be concerned with Larry Johnson's lessened involvement in recruiting
If Johnson is not going to be able to pull in the high-level recruits that he used to, he shouldn't be on staff. He wasn't able to develop J.T. Tuimoloau or Jack Sawyer into first-round picks despite the fact that they were five-star recruits. At that point, the Buckeyes should go younger.
Unfortunately, they let who there replacement could have been walk away to Texas. If Johnson does leave after this year, they are kind of stuck when it comes to replacing him. Johnson is 73 years old, so his lack of recruiting is certainly concerning.
Some Ohio State football fans think that he can't do anything wrong. Others think that he might have his best days behind him. Regardless, the Buckeyes are going to have him there for at least one more year. He has one more chance to keep things the way that they once were.