Before joining the Buckeyes in Columbus, Larry Johnson had previously built a name for himself as the defensive line coach at Penn State where he developed a number of future all Big Ten selections and NFL Draft picks.
Johnson quickly did the same with the Buckeyes, after joining Urban Meyer's staff, and remained on board after the program was handed over to Ryan Day this past off season, when he also added the title of associate head coach.
In the news of the day yesterday, a Pittsburgh Area financial planner named Marty Blazer admitted to paying student athletes at seven programs during a time frame stretching from 2000 to 2014. The programs named include Michigan, Northwestern, Pitt, Alabama, North Carolina, Notre Dame and - you guessed it - Penn State.
The the allegations brought forth by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, Blazer says he was asked by a Penn State assistant (Johnson), to pay a player's father $10,000 so the player would stay in college instead of entering the NFL Draft.
Johnson offered a rebuttal to the allegations in the article, sharing, ""That is not accurate at all. That is absolutely false. I would never, ever ask anybody to do that. That is not me."
According to Adam Rittenberg, Johnson released another statement that called the allegations, in part:
"It is a complete fabrication with no proof or basis in fact. We will take any and all legal actions against Mr. Blazer for making such slanderous statements to protect my name and reputation, which I have worked for 40 years as a coach, mentor, husband, father and grandfather to create."
Head here to read the full report from Yahoo Sports.
Stay tuned for more as this continues to play out.