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Former Ohio State Star Pepper Johnson Lands DC Job at IMG Academy

Johnson was an All-American at Ohio State and went on two win five Super Bowls as a player and coach.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have recruited the state of Florida fairly well over the years - 34 players have come to Columbus from the Sunshine State since 2000. But only a handful of them played their prep football at lauded IMG Academy in Bradenton.

Perhaps the Buckeyes tides could be changing. Former Ohio State star linebacker Pepper Johnson has landed the Defensive Coordinator job for IMG Academy, according to a tweet from head coach Bobby Acosta.

Florida is widely regarded as one of the premiere hot spots in the country for high school football talent. In fact, the Buckeyes have offered more than twice as many Florida recruits in the Class of 2021 than they have in the state of Ohio. Perhaps Johnson's Buckeye-ties can help Ohio State's recruiting efforts at one of the top prep schools in the country. This year alone, the Buckeyes have offered five players from IMG Academy.

Johnson will have a chance to coach OSU-commit Tunmise Adeleye, who is a national top 100 prospect. He made a verbal commitment to the Buckeyes back in April, but several programs are still trying to lure him away from the Scarlet and Gray. Adeleye is set to join Lejond Cavazos on campus next year, after Cavazos made the trip from Bradenton to Columbus himself.

Johnson was a fabulous linebacker for the Buckeyes, earning All-American honors in 1985. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round the following April and led them to a pair of Super Bowl titles. Johnson played 13 seasons in the NFL for the Giants, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Detroit Lions and made two Pro Bowls. Just two years after retiring, he joined Bill Belichick's staff in New England, where he would spend 13 seasons coaching the defensive line and linebackers. He was a part of three more Super Bowl winning teams.

Johnson spent 2019 coaching linebackers for the Memphis Express of the now-defunct Alliance of American Football. Last year, he was the Defensive Coordinator of the short-lived XFL's Los Angeles Wildcats.

Ohio State's Class of 2021 is ranked No. 1 in the country and the success of the program over the last two decades practically recruits itself. But with a coach as well-accomplished as Pepper Johnson, maybe the Buckeyes will have a better shot at luring away top-tier talent from some of the SEC schools that recruit Florida so well.

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