Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 22-38@ Syracuse | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Wk 11 | W 41-0@ Kent State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 42-21vs Ball State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#28
Jaylen Johnson
Senior safety on Ohio's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 221 lb · Cincinnati, OH
Returning to Ohio for 2026
Recruiting
3★
OT recruit
No. 2648 nationally · Signed with Ohio
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 safety on Ohio's roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Ohio in 2023.
Jaylen Johnson
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Three head coaches in four seasons, at three different programs. One game to point at: 1 tackles against Ball State — Week 14, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Ohio3-star out of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
1 coach2021–2024
Ohio
Played his entire career under Tim Albin.
2024 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2021Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced, fast tempo
2022Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced
2023Memphis10-3HC: Ryan Silverfield · Balanced
2024Ohio11-3HC: Tim Albin · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-71g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
John Hauser
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2022
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ohio | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Memphis | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Ohio State | 19 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | 1 |
| 2021 | Ohio State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 26 | 18 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | 1 |
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Ohio
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Ohio
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +3 net (19 in / 16 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Ohio · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #129 · 2026 recruiting class #107
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2022 production profile sits closest to Clayton Isbell’s 2022 season.
82%match
Matches Clayton on
Class year
Height
Weight
Differs from Clayton on
TFL rate (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Berry Buxton III's sophomore season at Syracuse (2024).
95%match
Matches Berry on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Jaylen Johnson
The secondary · Ohio
- #5Adonis Williams Jr.75 tackles · 2025
- #2DJ Walker55 tackles · 2025
- #7Tank Pearson49 tackles · 2025
- #9Michael Mack II35 tackles · 2025
- #28Jaylen Johnsonno box-score line yet
27 more on the roster · Ohio team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology