Larry Johnson is more than a coach

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State fans knew that they were getting a tremendous coach when Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes tapped Larry Johnson in January of 2014 for the vacant defensive line coaching position. Johnson brought an impressive resume to the table, one that saw him enter the coaching world in 1974 and jump into the college ranks in 1996.

It is easy to judge a coach only by the players that develop under them or by the wins and losses that a team puts up under their watch. Johnson has the pedigree with players like Joey Bosa at Ohio State and Courtney Brown, Jimmy Kennedy, Tamba Hali, Jared Odrick and Aaron Mabin from Penn State all going to the NFL as first round draft picks.

But not every player gets a shot to go in the first round of the draft however, or even a shot to play football at the next level. And while Johnson wants to see his players end up successful on the football field, it is even more important that his players end up successful in society and once their life after football begins.

"He is great, that is all I can really say," former Ohio State defensive lineman Donovan Munger said of Johnson. "He is great at what he does and he is very intense and talks about moments and events and this is a moment right here. He is a great mentor and I love having him."

Football, family and faith are all messages that come from the Ohio State defensive line coach.

"He has brought me closer to God and brought me everything, he has made me a better person," former Ohio State defensive lineman Joel Hale said. "I think he has that effect on people, the way he rubs off on people he just makes you better. He is a great guy and I love him to death."

Johnson has been referred to as "Preacher Larry" by many of his players and that nickname is something that the Ohio State coach is aware of and understands why players refer to him as that.

"I have heard that, I have a tendency to (come across) as a preacher sometimes because I want to make sure they feel it from my heart," Johnson said.

Johnson's message starts during the recruitment of an athlete. Often recruits talk about how a coach talks to them about "anything but football" during a recruiting visit or text conversation but those words are not empty when Larry Johnson talks to a recruit about his plans for him if he were to select Ohio State.

"(Johnson was) the first defensive line coach to say to Malik, 'I'm committed to seeing you succeed, not only as a football player, but more importantly, as a man,'" Malcolm Barrow, father of Ohio State true freshman lineman Malik Barrow said. "10-15 years from now, when he sees Malik, as a successful husband, father, son, and brother, he would know he's done a good job. Coach J says to him, 'I don't just coach a player, I invest in a player,' that's huge when you think about how many coaches say things like 'we need you', or 'this is how you can come in and help us.'"

"I think that is the key to kids being successful," Johnson said. "If you just talk football you are just a coach. If you invest in them, you really invest in the rest of their lives and I think that is where I am at. I want a guy to be… I want to be a part of their lives that I can reach and touch and they can come to me and share stories. That is how you reach kids. I can sometimes put myself out there and say that this is what I have gone through, this is my situation, it is really about building a relationship."

Johnson had to come in and hit the deck running at Ohio State and quickly build relationships when he arrived on campus. Sam Hubbard came into the Ohio State program without a position and kept sliding down to linebacker and to defensive line.

"He is a guy that I really didn't know until I got here because he had just gotten hired after I had committed and I never thought I would be playing for him," Hubbard said of Larry Johnson. "He is one of the best guys that I have ever been around and to take someone like me that has no experience at anywhere in the interior defense other than the secondary and get me ready to have a freshman All-American season is really all credit to him and his coaching and the way he does things.

"I am really thankful for him and I am really excited for what we have left in my career to work together and how much better he is going to get me over the next few years."

All eyes will be on Hubbard and the rest of the defensive line as they look to replace Bosa and Adolphus Washington in 2016. There is little doubt that Johnson will have his room ready when the bell rings for the season opener.

But Johnson's greatest impact on these young men will not be measured in sack totals and tackles for loss. The game of football has an expiration date for every player, sooner for some and later for others. And his true legacy will be measured by what his players have to say about him when the game is over.

"I really look up to him as a father figure and he has really been somebody that has changed my life pretty drastically," Hale said.