Jermaine Johnson's football path has been anything but a straight line.

He was academically ineligible coming out of high school, so spent two years at Independence Community College, where he was seen on the Netflix show "Last Chance U."

Johnson's next chance was at Georgia, where he was more of a role player. He played in 21 games over two years, registering 36 tackles, 6.5 sacks, eight tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. 

But the talent on the Bulldogs front made it clear to Johnson that a bigger role wasn't on the horizon, so he transferred once again following the 2020 season, this time to Florida State.

"I've always had confidence in myself," Johnson said at the NFL Combine in early March. "You kind of have to go on the path I did. I'm a team-first guy and I have strong faith in myself as well as god. God put us on this earth to serve, so I had to deal with coach Norvell and I had to come and invest everything I had in that program. I was strongly confident that everything else would fall into place."

Fall into place it did, as Johnson's immediate impact for the Seminoles produced 70 tackles, 12 sacks, 18 TFL, two FF, and 12 QB hurries in 12 games. That earned him ACC Defensive Player of the Year as well as 2nd team All-American honors.

Of course, the breakout season also carried questions along with it.

"The one-year production, that definitely spiked everyone to ask 'Where did this guy come from?' Johnson said. "I've been here all along. I finally got the opportunity to show that and I'm grateful to Florida State and coach Mike Norvell for that."

Johnson's game combines good athleticism with great size and length. He stands 6'5" and 254 pounds with 34-inch arms. The edge rusher ran a 4.58 second 40 yard dash time, tied for 7th fastest among defensive ends testing in Indianapolis. His 10'5" broad jump tied for 4th best at the position.

Overall, Johnson feels he brings it all together from start to finish.

"I'm vicious," Johnson said. "I'm physical. I will be on you the entire game. I play 90 like I play the first play of the game. You look at my film and that's pretty evident. I don't give up and I remind myself that I am the best player on that football field."​

While just one year of major production is a question mark, Johnson's skillset likely has him going no later than the middle of the 1st round.