Tag: jk Johnson

2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 12 JK Johnson

JK Johnson started five of the 13 games he appeared in as a redshirt freshman for Ohio State last fall.

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].

JK Johnson’s Photo Gallery

2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 10 Denver Harris

Denver Harris was one of the top transfer portal options this offseason.

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.

Once again, LSU hit the transfer portal hard to find replacement options in the transfer portal, and arguably the biggest addition in that group is [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag], a former five-star recruit who saw limited action in his one season at Texas A&M but has a lot of potential to develop on this LSU defense.

Denver Harris Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Ht: 6-0

Wt: 183

247Sports Composite Ranking

Five Stars | No. 6 in Texas | No. 4 Cornerback

Class in 2022: Freshman

Career Stats

Year G Total Solo TFL Sack FF PD INT
2022 (Texas A&M) 5 14 10 0 0 0 3 0


Depth Chart Overview

The former five-star from Houston was a major piece of one of the best signing classes in history for the Aggies, but after a true freshman season in which he only saw the field in a limited role and played in just five games, he’s looking for a new beginning.

LSU has a lot of talent in the secondary, and he may be looking at another season in a more rotational role. However, he will compete with transfers [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] and [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], as well as returning cornerback [autotag]Laterrance Welch[/autotag], for a starting spot this fall.

Denver Harris’ Photo Gallery

LSU among many Power 5 programs in hot pursuit of veteran Louisiana DB transfer

The Tigers are one of several Power Five programs throwing its hat in the ring for the recruitment of experienced Louisiana defensive back transfer Trey Amos.

The Tigers are one of several Power Five programs throwing its hat in the ring for the recruitment of experienced Louisiana defensive back transfer [autotag]Trey Amos[/autotag].

Since entering the transfer portal Monday, Amos has heard from programs all across the country and has announced 14 offers on his Twitter account. LSU is among them.

The Tigers have been very active in adding defensive backs through the transfer portal this cycle with pickups like [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag]. Adding Amos would be the icing on the cake.

A three-year player for the Ragin’ Cajuns, he started 10 of the 11 games he played in last year, finishing a career season with 35 total tackles and eight pass breakups.

The Tigers will face stiff competition in the race for Amos. Among a star-studded offer list is Florida and his former head coach in Billy Napier as well as Alabama, which seems to have some momentum right now. We’ll see if Kelly can land another Louisiana player through the transfer portal in the New Iberia native.

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Where does ESPN rank LSU’s defense entering 2023 season?

Despite a lot of new faces, ESPN is buying this unit in its latest defensive power rankings for the 2023 season.

LSU returns a lot of talent in 2023 coming off a 10-win, SEC West championship season last fall.

That is especially true on offense, where the team returns starting quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], all of its top running backs, its two best pass-catchers arguably in [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], as well as an offensive line that is young but promising and brings back all but one starter.

Defensively, though, there are a few more questions. The Tigers lost a good amount of production including their two starting defensive ends and much of their secondary. However, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] hit the portal once again to rebuild.

After adding players like [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] in the secondary, as well as linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] and defensive line additions like [autotag]Bradyn Swinson[/autotag], [autotag]Ovie Oghoufo[/autotag] and [autotag]Paris Shand[/autotag], this group looks promising despite featuring a lot of new faces for the second year in a row.

Still, ESPN is buying the unit and ranks it as the No. 7 defense in the country entering the season.

2022 future defense power ranking: 9

Scouting the Tigers: LSU’s defense is in a good spot after a solid but not spectacular 2022 season under a new coaching staff. The unit brings back star power, especially with linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. for at least two more seasons. But there are some holes to fill, especially in the secondary and up front, as B.J. Ojulari moves on to the NFL. The return of dynamic defensive tackle Maason Smith, injured while celebrating during the 2022 opener, helps a line that loses both Ojulari and end Ali Gaye. Smith and Mekhi Wingo, a third-team AP All-America selection who had three sacks and six tackles for loss, give the Tigers two interior stalwarts, both with multiple years of eligibility left. Junior end Sai’vion Jones could see a bigger role after finishing third on the team in sacks (4.5) last fall. Jacobian Guillory and Arizona transfer Paris Shand provide depth inside. Ovie Oghoufo, a Texas transfer with 13 career sacks, should help fill the pass-rushing gap.

The Tigers have one of the nation’s best linebacker tandems in Perkins and Omar Speights, an Oregon State transfer who earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2022. The group also boasts junior Greg Penn III, who finished second on the team in tackles last season (78). Junior West Weeks is a solid depth player who had 28 tackles last season. Veteran safety Greg Brooks Jr. will lead the secondary after showing production and playmaking in 2022. Brooks and junior Major Burns project to start at safety. The cornerback spot is a bigger mystery, although LSU has options with transfers Duce Chestnut (Syracuse), Denver Harris (Texas A&M), JK Johnson (Ohio State) and Zy Alexander (Southeastern Louisiana), as well as holdovers such as Sage Ryan, an ESPN top-65 recruit in 2021. LSU also signed Javien Toviano (cornerback) and Da’Shawn Wommack (defensive end). The team’s overall defensive recruiting remains promising.

With the offseason additions plus the return of a budding superstar in linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], this defense is certainly promising. You can never know for sure how a defense filled with transfers will look until it takes the field, but there will be no shortage of defensive talent in Baton Rouge this season.

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LSU State of the Program: Secondary looks to build a foundation

Here’s what to expect from LSU’s secondary this year and moving forward.

Thinking about the lead-up to last season, I think I wrote more about LSU’s new-look secondary than anything else. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] rebuilding the room from scratch was a major storyline.

A year later, I’m getting deja vu. LSU, once again, has taken to the portal to fill out the secondary.

Several of last year’s additions were on the older side, approaching the end of their eligibility or in the case of [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay Ward[/autotag], ready to declare for the draft.

[autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Joe Foucha[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Richardson[/autotag] are gone, too.

A few younger players choose to exit through the portal. [autotag]Raydarious Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Jaelyn Davis-Robinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Damarius McGhee[/autotag] will all be playing elsewhere.

There’s no cause for concern yet with some of the portal’s best corners set to wear purple and gold. Here’s what the group looks like in 2023 and beyond.

Analyzing every LSU cornerback transfer addition

Here’s what to expect from LSU’s key transfer additions at corner.

For the second year in a row, LSU was forced to rebuild its secondary through the portal.

Last year’s additions — [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag], [autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Greg Brooks Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Foucha[/autotag] — proved to be essential to the success of LSU’s defense.

Garner, Bernard-Converse and Foucha are off to the NFL, and a couple of LSU’s younger corners have hit the portal themselves. The attrition left LSU with few options to start at corner in 2023, none of them proven.

Those concerns have been squashed as LSU is set to bring in a slew of transfer corners. At least a couple from this crew should be in Baton Rouge for more than a year.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see these guys earn starting roles, or at least, make big contributions.

Here’s a look at LSU’s corner additions in the portal.

Former Ohio State cornerback JK Johnson lands at LSU

Another former Buckeye heading to the Bayou. #GoBucks

Shortly after the heartbreaking loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff national semi-final, JK Johnson put his name in the transfer portal. It didn’t take long for Johnson to find a new home as he’ll be traveling south to the Bayou to play for Brian Kelly and LSU. Johnson announced the news with an updated Twitter profile with him in a purple LSU jersey and “Ohio State -> LSU” in the bio.

Johnson started five games for the Buckeyes in 2022 and played in every other regular season game after only seeing action in just two games his freshman season. However, he didn’t see any time in the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl loss to Georgia. With the possible departure of Cameron Brown in the secondary, it seems Johnson would’ve been in line for a significant increase in snaps.

Johnson was the No. 3 cornerback prospect and No. 50 overall recruit in the 2021 class.

This marks the second year in a row that an Ohio State cornerback has left Columbus for Baton Rouge. Last year, former starter Sevyn Banks joined the Tigers as a grad transfer where he was earning playing time before a neck injury in early October and had to be carted off the field on a stretcher.

Losing Johnson definitely hurts a defense that is badly in need of depth in the secondary. However, Ohio State has some strong freshmen coming in and will probably still look for some more help in the transfer portal.

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LSU expected to add former blue-chip Ohio State corner JK Johnson

Johnson changed his bio on Twitter to include LSU on Sunday.

LSU has been aggressive in addressing the secondary — and the cornerback position, specifically — so far this offseason. It seems the program is poised to add yet another through the portal.

Ohio State cornerback transfer [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] is expected to transfer to LSU. Johnson posted photos from his Baton Rouge visit this weekend, and though he didn’t explicitly commit, he did update his Twitter bio to include the Tigers.

This would be another huge pickup for LSU, which also added Syracuse transfer [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] on Friday and had already landed a pair of corner transfers in [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag].

The DeSmet, Missouri, native is a former top 50 prospect, and he appeared in 15 games, totaling 22 tackles in two years. Johnson appeared in all 13 games this season, starting five of them.

His decision to transfer to LSU makes quite a bit of sense. Tigers cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag] was Johnson’s head coach in high school at DeSmet Jesuit, and now the pair have reunited on the bayou.

With the departures of [autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag] and others, it was important that LSU land instant impact players in the portal. Johnson would certainly be one.

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Ohio State football offseason transfer portal tracker

A look at the comings and goings of Ohio State football players and the transfer portal for the 2023 offseason. #GoBucks

Now that the book has been closed on the season for the Ohio State football program — in disappointing and dramatic fashion — we’ll be taking a forward look toward next season. We’ve already taken an extremely early look at the schedule for 2023, and now it’s time to focus on the roster.

Specifically, now that there’s nothing more to play for, you can bet that we’ll start to get news on OSU players that enter the transfer portal. We’ve already experienced a few putting their names in to keep options open, but don’t be surprised if we hear about a few more.

So, to make it easy to keep tabs on, we’re kicking off our Ohio State football offseason transfer portal tracker and will update it as new players enter, and any developments with those already announced as looking at other programs.

Here’s where things stand just after the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Be sure to check back often as things tend to happen pretty quickly. First, we’ll focus on the guys looking to leave the program.

NEXT … Ohio State players entering their names into the transfer portal

Ohio State cornerback enters the transfer portal

One more into the transfer portal. #GoBucks

Now that the season has come to a dramatic end for the Ohio State football team, you can expect the transfer and NFL declaration news to heat up. One of those dominoes fell Tuesday when defensive back JK Johnson entered the transfer portal according to several reports.

Out of DeSmet High School in Saint Louis, Missouri, Johnson was the No. 3 cornerback and 50th overall recruit in the 2021 class according to the 247Sports composite. He played in one game during his freshman year before dealing with a shoulder injury, but logged a substantial time in 2022, especially with injuries in the defensive backfield. Johnson started five games but didn’t see any time in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Instead, he  watched Cam Brown and Denzel Burke get plenty of playing time against Georgia.

With a defensive back driven defense under Jim Knowles, Johnson’s loss could be significant when it comes to depth and ability. There are still plenty of bodies in the room, but losing arguably the No. 3 corner on the depth chart isn’t anything to sneeze at.

There is no information on where Johnson is leaning as far as a future program goes, but as we hear more, we’ll be on top of it.

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