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Larry Johnson is not just one of the greatest defensive line coaches in college football today, but one of greatest of all-time.
The Ohio State Buckeyes D-Line coach began his college coaching career at Penn State, where he developed superstars such as Courtney Brown and Tamba Hali and had six players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Johnson then went to Ohio State in 2014 and his resume has only continued to grow from there.
NFL stars such as Joey and Nick Bosa, Chase Young and Dre’Mont Jones all owe some portion of their development to Johnson.
Unsurprisingly, his ability to continually develop elite talent as well as his straightforward demeanor have made Johnson one of the country’s best recruiters.
This year, however, things are different.
Ohio State has just two defensive lineman committed to the 2024 class. And five-star edge rusher Eddrick Houston is reportedly considering a flip to the Alabama Crimson Tide on signing day.
That would leave Johnson, and the Buckeyes, with only three-star defensive end Eric Mensah committed.
Between that and their general unhappiness with the direction of the program, Ohio State fans are now turning on Johnson.
“If Larry Johnson misses on Houston, that’s a bad, bad, bad look. Whiffed 2 recruiting cycles in a row,” one fan tweeted.
“Is Larry Johnson holding the program hostage? Commits backing out cuz he may retire, or he’s just not able to close, players who are here not happy, he supposedly won’t work with Knowles…What are we doing here,” asked another.
Some fans went even further than that.