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Indiana star DL, All-B1G selection declares for 2021 NFL Draft

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Arguably the best defensive lineman on the Indiana roster during the 2020 season will not be taking advantage of the NCAA’s blanket waiver to play one more year for the Hoosiers.

Star lineman Jerome Johnson announced via Instagram on Wednesday that he plans to enter his name into the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s picking a great time to go, after producing a big season in Bloomington as a redshirt senior.

Below is the message Johnson shared on Instagram to make his announcement.

Johnson is the second defensive lineman from Indiana to make the leap to the NFL Draft in as many days. On Tuesday, Stanford transfer Jovan Swann announced his decision to declare for the draft.

Johnson played a key role on a Hoosiers defense that paved the way to an unforgettable 6-2 season. He was responsible for 18 tackles, 4 sacks, an interception and a blocked kick in 8 games during the 2020 campaign.

Throughout his career in Bloomington, Johnson has proved to be a consistent player along the defensive line. He leaves IU with a total of 111 stops, 21 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.

Indiana ended long losing streaks to Michigan and Wisconsin during the 2020 season and were ranked in the Associated Press Poll most of the season and cracked the College Football Playoff Top 25 for the first time in school history.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB