In less than five years, Jermaine Johnson is going to go from appearing on Netflix's "Last Chance U" to a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
The 23-year-old -- who is the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year -- is set to become a first-round pick in Thursday's NFL Draft. Jesse Pantuosco of Audacy Sports projected earlier this week that Johnson will land with the Minnesota Vikings as the No. 12 overall pick.
The Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons are other potential landing spots for Johnson. One way or another, his name is pretty certain to be called within the first 15 picks.
It's been an incredible journey for Johnson, who had the talent but not the academic marks to play Division-1 football after his high school career at Eden Prarie High School in Minneapolis.
Johnson spent his first two college years playing for the Independence Community College Pirates, who were coached by the polarizing Jason Brown and chronicled on perhaps the two most popular seasons of "Last Chance U" on Netflix:
Around the same time that Brown was pushed into resigning after a scandal emerged involving a text message that he sent to a player, Johnson transferred to the University of Georgia following a tenure at ICC that saw him post 12 1/2 sacks, 11 tackles for a loss and four forced fumbles in 20 games at the JUCO level.
Johnson posted seven sacks in two seasons at Georgia, but on a defense that featured a slew of other likely 2022 first-round picks -- Travon Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean -- he wasn't able to emerge as a consistent force.
Ahead of the 2021 season, Johnson transferred to Florida State. While he missed out on an opportunity to win a National Championship at Georgia, Johnson unquestionably made the correct decision to move on to a program where he would be more of a standout.
And stand out is exactly what Johnson did in his lone season at Florida State, recording 70 total tackles, 17 1/2 tackles for a loss, 11 1/2 sacks, two pass deflections, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown.
As recently as last year, Johnson seemed like a prospect that, at best, would be a mid-round pick made by a team that believed his potential wasn't unlocked during his college career. Now, even in a draft with a ton of talented edge rushers, Johnson is slated to be one of the first 15 names off the board. He got his last chance(s) and made the best of it.
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