Xavier Johnson reveals how faith helped facilitate breakout game after nearly leaving the sport

Ohio State wide receiver Xavier Johnson has had to wait for his opportunity, and he got it in a big way on Saturday against Notre Dame. After splitting time as a running back and a wide receiver over the first few years of his collegiate career, Johnson came out in Week 1 and started his 2022 season off on a high note.

Johnson had two receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown on Saturday for Ohio State. His 24-yard touchdown reception was a big one, as it gave the Buckeyes the lead in the third quarter and went on to hold up as the game winning score.

After the game, Johnson explained what his big moment in Ohio State’s win meant to him, and he revealed why he was overcome with emotion after finding the endzone.

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“I came in and I was confident in myself. Shoot, coming in I was expecting to shock the world as a freshman,” Johnson said after Ohio State’s victory. “Everybody does. They come in and they got all these high hopes and expectations. But I would say that kind of just part of my testimony, like the lord kind of took, I feel like he took football away from me for a second and he gave it back in a way that I could glorify him. So like you said, it was countless nights where shoot, I was thinking about throwing in the towel some nights. There was nights where I felt like I had a foot out the door. But I always relied on my faith in prayer to see where exactly I was supposed to be and I never felt the lord lead me to leave.

“So just kind of seeing how I came full circle, it’s just a testament to his faithfulness. In that moment it was all I could think about, was just how the lord really is. I mean that’s literally it. I was overcome with emotion, but it was emotion from the standpoint of like I’m glorifying the lord right now and I’m in the right position.”

Emeka Egbuka led the way for the Buckeyes with nine receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. Marvin Harrison Jr. had five catches for 56 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was held to just two catches for three yards in the contest. While Johnson might not have been the guy anybody expected to come through in the clutch for Ohio State, that’s exactly what he did. And as he revealed after the game, it became a true full circle moment for him.

Next up for Ohio State is another home matchup on Saturday, this time against Arkansas State.