Tag: Paris Johnson Jr.

The day after: Thoughts on Ohio State’s crushing loss to Georgia

So many thoughts but these stuck out in my mind the most. How about yours Buckeye fans? #GoBucks

If you were like me, it was hard to sleep Saturday night.

For more than three quarters of the [autotag]Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl[/autotag], it looked like [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] would face [autotag]TCU[/autotag] with a national championship on the line. Georgia had different plans. It mounted a massive comeback during the fourth quarter and sent the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a disappointing loss.

Since the game ended, many thoughts have passed through my head, some good, some bad and a great many pondering what the future for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his program will look like. Here are my thoughts the day after Ohio State’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal. (Also, happy New Year’s everyone, even if it wasn’t what many of us wanted).

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Paris Johnson Jr. pens heartfelt letter to Buckeye Nation

Such a cool read and one we think you won’t want to miss. #GoBucks

Sometimes you get a peek behind the curtain that makes you feel pretty good about the state of the world. In this case, it’s the Ohio State football program and it comes by way of an inspiring and heartfelt letter Buckeye offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. penned for the Players Tribune.

The letter is addressed to Buckeye Nation and takes you behind Johnson’s recruitment and the impact the culture of Columbus and Ohio State had on the five-star prospect coming out of high school.

Somewhat surprisingly, Johnson didn’t even have OSU on his radar and went to a camp begrudgingly thinking he would commit elsewhere, such as Alabama. Despite being an in-state prospect (from Cincinnati), he didn’t even know who Urban Meyer was or what it meant to be a Buckeye because he wasn’t plugged into things like most people.

But then he went and felt the brotherhood and culture in the program. Not only from Meyer, who wooed him with a post-Penn State 2017 trailer, but from Ryan Day who took over as a players coach and exuded passion and fire.

We will not spoil the whole read for you, but in a day and age where many fans are still disappointed with losing to Michigan two straight years, this should add a little perspective and calm fears about the state of the program — at least a little.

This is well said and it’s no wonder Johnson has a gift for painting a clear picture of the Buckeye culture. After all, he is a journalism major. If things don’t work out in the NFL, he clearly has something to fall back on.

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Todd McShay lists three Ohio State players in his early first-round NFL mock predictions

Here’s where Todd McShay has three Buckeye stars going in the 2023 NFL draft. #GoBucks

I know, I know, you don’t want to even think about the NFL draft until we turn the page on the Ohio State football season and whatever story the Buckeyes write in the 2022 College Football Playoff.

But still, there is a slew of OSU players we get to watch do their best work at the highest level in the game, and you can bet that we’ll see more Ohio State players hear their names called when the 2023 NFL draft takes center stage in Kansas City in late April.

One of the most followed and well-respected NFL draft analysts out there is ESPN’s Todd McShay and he just dropped his latest early first-round mock NFL draft (subscription required) for the 2023 cycle. As you would expect, Ohio State is again well-represented with three stars expected to pick up the phone and receive the good news either in the green room or at another place to celebrate.

Here are the three Ohio State players McShay has projected in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft as we head toward the end of 2022.

Report: Both transfer tackles Ohio State has offered will visit this weekend

Both will be on campus this weekend! #GoBucks

The Buckeyes made quick decisions on who they wanted to target in the transfer portal along the offensive line: Rhode Island’s [autotag]Ajani Cornelius[/autotag] and UTEP’s [autotag]Jeremiah Byers[/autotag].

Both big men were offered scholarships this weekend and [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] along with offensive line coach [autotag]Justin Frye[/autotag] have made a big enough impression with each that they will visit Columbus this weekend according to a report by 247Sports and by Fox’s [autotag]Bruce Feldman[/autotag].

This development is very interesting. On Friday, I postulated that both current starting tackles, [autotag]Paris Johnson Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Dawand Jones[/autotag] could be leaving [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] with eligibility remaining. Day is hedging his bets, which makes a ton of sense as the tackle position is the most important along the offensive line.

This is a nice contrast from what the Buckeyes have done previously with the portal, watching other teams use it to fortify their rosters. Since getting the tackles on campus for a visit is a huge step in their recruitment, expect Ohio State to be contenders for their commitments when each makes his choice.

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Another Ohio State offensive tackle transfer offer goes out

The Bucks are looking for OT help in the portal #GoBucks

It seems like [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] is tipping his hand a bit on what his current offensive tackles intentions are after playing in the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag]. Both [autotag]Paris Johnson Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Dawand Jones[/autotag] have eligibility remaining after this year, but the recent action on the transfer trail might signal that Day knows both his starting tackles will be making the jump to the NFL.

Having already offered Rhode Island transfer offensive tackle [autotag]Ajani Cornelius[/autotag] earlier this week, the offer to UTEP tackle [autotag]Jeremiah Byers[/autotag] flew a bit under the radar. The Buckeyes followed offers from schools like [autotag]Penn State[/autotag], [autotag]Florida State[/autotag], [autotag]Oregon[/autotag] and others.

Byers has already visited FSU and has yet to announce if he will be taking other visits at the time of this post. With Day already offering two tackles from the portal, expect at least a few more offers to come from the position, especially if neither of them ultimately visit Columbus.

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Ohio State offers massive transfer portal offensive tackle

The Buckeyes are looking to the portal to fill potential gaps on their offensive line

Even though I’d like to believe [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] reads my content, I know he doesn’t.

What I do know is we both see a need at offensive tackle, especially considering the potential for both tackles, [autotag]Paris Johnson Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Dawand Jones[/autotag], to move to the next level after this season.

At minimum, one of the two will leave early. And with not much experience behind them, Day pulled the trigger on former Rhode Island offensive tackle [autotag]Ajani Cornelius[/autotag] and offered him a scholarship. The lineman checks in at 6 feet, 4 inches and 320 pounds. He is getting interest from a good number of Power Five programs, including Oregon, Nebraska, Tennessee, Boston College and Illinois.

The next step for the Buckeyes is getting Cornelius on campus, something Oregon did this past weekend. Hopefully Day can get that visit soon to show Cornelius what Ohio State has to offer.

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Multiple Ohio State stars make Mel Kiper of ESPN’s top NFL prospects

Expect to see a lot more Buckeyes on Sunday’s!

There is some good and bad when it comes to the uptick in NFL Draft projections. The good is that the Buckeyes are always very well represented at the next level, the bad sees [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] stars moving on and the end of the college football season.

Even though it is inevitable, it’s a bit bittersweet. With that said, Mel Kiper of ESPN (subscription required) has released his top 25 big board prospects along with his top 10 positional prospects for the upcoming 2023 [autotag]NFL Draft[/autotag]. It should come as no surprise that a large amount of Buckeye players made the list. Find out below who made the top 25 overall and who is considered the best at their positions.

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Transfer prospect wish list for Ohio State Football

Who do you think the Buckeyes should target in the portal?

The transfer portal is full-on crazy right now, with over 700 FBS players potentially changing schools and growing. It’s an absurd number and honestly a scary one. In the ideal scenario, each one of these student-athletes would get a chance to play for another school, but unfortunately, that won’t be the case.

Every school has different needs, some of them use the portal as a way to jump-start a program and others use it to fill gaps left by players who have either left early for the NFL or themselves have entered the portal.

For [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag], it’s the ability to round out a roster and fill some gaps. The Buckeyes recruit at such a high level, the needs aren’t paramount, and filling the gaps is all that is needed. Find out below which prospects I’d love to see in the Scarlet and Gray next fall.

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Top OTs in 2023 NFL Draft as Browns look to replace Jack Conklin this offseason

Jack Conklin is set to be a free agent. Could the Browns find his replacement in the 2023 NFL Draft?

The Cleveland Browns may have to replace right tackle Jack Conklin as he is set to be a free agent this summer. Considering he almost retired a year ago, it is safe to say he will not be back in Cleveland in 2023 after restructuring his deal. As James Hudson has looked like a massive liability in the past few weeks, could the Browns turn to the 2023 NFL Draft to replace Conklin?

We have already tackled a series of draft-eligible defensive tackles, so now we move to another need in Cleveland. The Browns will not come on the clock until around the 40th pick in the draft, but could still fill plenty of needs with their plethora of assets.

With Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu (potentially the best in the class) heading back to school, who are the top offensive tackles in this year’s draft class? We take a look here.

One note before diving in: Tennessee’s Darnell Wright is a talented player, but one whose skillset translates better as a guard at the next level.

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Ohio State football prospects in latest The Draft Network mock NFL draft

Ohio State football prospects in latest The Draft Network mock NFL draft #GoBucks #NFL #NFLDraft

Our friends at The Draft Network do a phenomenal job of providing us with the most up-to-date NFL mock drafts with an extremely knowledgeable explanation behind each pick. As these mock drafts get updated throughout the season, we here at Buckeyes Wire will keep a close eye on the movements of the eligible Ohio State prospects.

The Buckeyes funnel a ton of talent into the NFL and the 2023 NFL Draft maybe even more loaded with Ohio State prospects than most due to the insane talent on the offensive side of the football. It’s time to dive into the latest first-round mock from Kyle Crabbs and the Ohio State prospects he has being selected.