Local DT picking up big interest

It is turning into the year of the defensive lineman in Ohio for the 2019 recruiting class. Ohio State has already offered a trio of in-state prospects who could project somewhere along the defensive line in that 2019 class and the Buckeyes are taking a very close look at Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis DeSales product Rodas Johnson.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound prospect starred on both sides of the ball at Olentangy High School his sophomore year, before transferring to DeSales this off-season.

"I've visited Ohio State twice (recently)," said Johnson. "Both times I was there for a practice. It's very fast tempo and it was good to see how quick it is, how they do things, and how they get things done to have a productive practice."

Johnson is a Texas transplant, growing up in Houston before moving to the Columbus area around the age of 10. But he has quickly developed a fondness for the Ohio State program.

"When I moved here, everybody loved Ohio State so I just grew to love Ohio State as a university and a football team," he said.

The athletic two-way lineman says the schools that he has talked to have been recruiting him on the defensive side of the football. The offers are starting to trickle in.

"I have three offers right now," he said. "Bowling Green, Eastern Kentucky, and Cincinnati. I visited Cincinnati and plan to visit EKU soon."

Former Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell is a DeSales graduate and his staff has been very active in recruiting the Central Ohio product.

"I thought it was really nice," Johnson said of Cincinnati. "That's a good program and they're going to get a lot better as the years go by. I think the coaching staff is really nice."

There are plenty more offers to come for Johnson, however. More than a handful of Power Five programs have reached out already.

"So far I've heard from Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, Duke, Michigan, and Michigan State," he added.