Going into the 2023 football season, LSU Wire will be looking at each player listed on the Tigers’ roster.
Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Brian Kelly this season.
After losing a lot of production in the secondary from the 2022 team, the Tigers went heavy to the transfer portal to plug the holes. One of the top additions is cornerback [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], who was a rotational player with Ohio State as a redshirt freshman last fall but is expected to take a step forward this fall.
JK Johnson Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Ht: 6-1
Wt: 180
247Sports Composite Ranking
Four Stars | No. 1 in Missouri | No. 3 Cornerback
Class in 2022: Redshirt Freshman
Career Stats
| Year | G | Total | Solo | TFL | Sack | FF | PD | INT |
| 2021 (Ohio State) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 (Ohio State) | 13 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Depth Chart Overview
A former top-50 recruit coming out of high school and the top prospect in the state of Missouri, Johnson redshirted his first season at Ohio State after appearing in just two games.
He saw a much bigger role as a redshirt freshman last fall, appearing in 13 games and making five starts. He had minimal production, making 20 tackles while not breaking up or intercepting any passes.
He hit the transfer portal after the season, and he lands with an LSU team that has to replace [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag], [autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Colby Richardson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay Ward[/autotag]. Johnson will likely be in the mix to earn a starting spot on the outside this season alongside transfers [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag], as well as returning contributor [autotag]Laterrance Welch[/autotag].