Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr. continues work with Cincinnati Bengals legend

The pairing seems only natural as Johnson is a Cincinnati native who long ago became a rising recruit and Anderson is not only legendary former NFL offensive line but also a former Cincinnati Bengal.

“To me he’s like a family member,” said Johnson, who also praised his mother Monica for the many sacrifices she has made to help him along his journey. “I hit him with all the questions I have about the game, about the transition.”

The 6-foot-6, 313-pound Johnson attended both St. Xavier and Princeton in high school, and he was coached by Greg Strudrawa and Justin Frye at Ohio State, so he has had no shortage of coaches throughout his young career.

He is considered an outstanding athlete of his size, he has also expressed a great interest in the technical aspects of playing tackle, and he said Anderson and Frye emphasize some of the same things.

“So I would say the one big things that I work on with (Anderson) a lot are individual hands, and that’s something that also coach Frye brought to Ohio State so it was kind of perfect,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of perfect that I’m working individual hands and individual feet with coach Frye and then Willie Anderson. His technique and all that stuff mirrors the same thing so I’m able to bring it to practice. I’m able to receive the same coaching, the same support that the team has, which is awesome.”

Anderson was a standout at Auburn before the Bengals chose him with No. 10 pick in the 1996 draft.

He was a first-team All-Pro pick three times, already has been inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor and was a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023.

The Bengals likely could use help at tackle in the early rounds of the draft in April, but Johnson likely will be chosen before they are are on the clock at No. 28.

He is projected to be taken somewhere in the middle of the first round and endorsed the idea of being taken by the Packers, who have the 15th pick and a familiar face at center in fellow Ohio State grad Josh Myers.

“I would say when I first got to Ohio State, I jumped on his back,” Johnson said of Myers, a Miamisburg grad who was the starting center for the Buckeyes in 2019 and ‘20. “I did everything he did, and it was probably super annoying. But I learned a lot and I thank him for it all the time.

“He was type of guy when I got on the field and especially at guard as a freshman, you know, there’s teams like Clemson and Alabama and I jumped in those games and I’ve got a lot of stuff on my mind and he said, ‘Hey, just do the things that you do in practice. Just act like this is practice. Play like that.’ Because of the intensity I practiced with.

“It helps when your center is massive, but then I was like, ‘I’m good. I’m straight.’ So then I’m going out there and playing free. So I would say he was one of those first guys who let me unleash myself in college.

“If God gave me the opportunity to be back with him, that would be great.”