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Associate HC/DL Coach Larry Johnson Sr. (National Champion)

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DEFENSIVE LINE COACH LARRY JOHNSON
HOW CAN HIS LINEMEN GENERATE CONSISTENT PENETRATION AND DISRUPTION?
How many times have you read that the Buckeyes have to figure out how to replace Chase Young? Four billion times? Seven billion? Probably somewhere in the middle.

Well…the Buckeyes have to figure out how to replace Chase Young. Add it to your personal count.

Johnson’s first-rate recruiting and top-level development of defensive linemen should allow him to turn the page to the next wave better than most coaches. He’ll have Zach Harrison, Jonathan Cooper and Tyreke Smith at his disposal at defense end and Tommy Togiai, Taron Vincent and Haskell Garrett at defensive tackle. But are they enough to create the amount of disruption, tackles for loss and sacks that he wants?

They’re talented, yes. But the potential far outweighs their collective production thus far. It’ll be up to Johnson to prepare them for the spotlight.
 
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“He just has a really unique way of connecting with you,” Jack Sawyer, a 5-star 2021 Ohio State commit told Lettermen Row. “It’s not one thing he does or doesn’t do, he just knows how to talk to people of all ages and backgrounds. He’s real, he’s down-to-earth and he’s been the exact same way since I met him almost three years ago.

“He’s never changed.”

College football is changing. Coaches are changing. Recruiting is changing.

Larry Johnson is not.

He’s maintained true to the ideals that molded him as a young coach and has kept his focus on finding young men who not only want to be great football players, but are interested in becoming better people.

“He makes you understand your potential, how great you can be,” former Buckeyes lineman Jashon Cornell told Lettermen Row. “He just makes you feel like you’re joining a family. Everything about him you just know you can trust, plus his resume is like no other.”

Every coach says the right things on the recruiting trail. That’s what they get paid for. What makes Johnson different? According to Cornell, it’s the simple fact that what he says, he means.

“He never switched up at all,” Cornell said. “What he tells you in recruiting is what you get when you step on campus. He t0ld me to trust him and come to campus and work. Do everything that he tells you to do and not be resistant to becoming a better man and then you’ll end up a better football player with the possibility of becoming an NFL draft pick.”
 
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DAY HAD “NO HESITATION” NAMING JOHNSON INTERIM COACH
Even before Ryan Day tested positive for COVID-19 last Friday, Smith had already talked to Day about who would fill in for him as acting head coach if that situation was to arise. And he said Day’s answer was immediate that defensive line coach and associate head coach Larry Johnson should be the next man up.

“When I called Ryan, this was before he had COVID, and we had a conversation about if-then scenarios, and asked him about ‘OK, who’s in charge if he goes down?’ And didn’t anticipate it happening, but Larry was his first choice. It was no hesitation, it was no pause, it was instant, Larry was the guy,” Smith said. “And I think that that’s representative of the fact that Ryan understands that this team needs someone who connects with them.

“The motivation, the care around their individual situation or just the group as a whole, Larry gets it. Larry’s so connected to kind of the vibe of the team. And they relate to him. So as we move into the Michigan State game, the motivation is gonna be huge, and he’s gonna contribute to that. So I thought when Ryan said it, I thought it was the perfect choice, and I’m really glad he’s in that seat.”
 
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