Howie Johnson

Physical Profile

Johnson played his junior year at 255 and his senior year at roughly 260, then arrived in Minneapolis listed at 300, a 40-pound gain in under a year that moves him firmly from a hybrid end/tackle profile to a full-time interior body. His build is thick through the hips and thighs, and his lower-body power is documented rather than inferred: a 405-pound front squat, a 295-pound hang clean, and a 58-59 foot shot put that placed second at the Minnesota state meet and ranked among the top sophomore throws in the country. The height and reach are average for a Big Ten three-technique, and 247Sports' Andrew Ivins flagged the frame as the main question for an interior projection. His compensator is a naturally low center of gravity that lets him win the pad-level battle against longer guards. The new weight needs to be evaluated on film this fall to confirm he kept the change-of-direction quickness that defined his high school tape.

Play Style

Johnson is a penetrating, disruptive interior lineman rather than a two-gap space eater. His game is built on winning the snap: he fires off the ball, gets under the blocker's pads, and uses wrestling-style leverage and hand quickness to shed rather than absorb. Against the run he is alert to pullers and counters, resets his feet well, and chases plays from behind. His high school coaches also used him as the edge blocker on the field-goal unit and as a personal protector on punts, a sign of trust in his hands and football IQ. On film against White Bear Lake as a senior he posted eleven total tackles and a sack while throwing aside 240-260 pound linemen with ease. His production skewed toward tackles for loss over sacks, so his pass rush today is more power and pursuit than technique.

Strengths

• Get-off and initial quickness: Ivins describes him as exploding out of his stance and getting underneath blockers before they set, which is how a 255-pound high school tackle piled up 32 tackles for loss in a single junior season.
• Leverage and hand fighting rooted in wrestling: he was an all-section heavyweight through ninth grade and credits the mat for teaching him to use an opponent's momentum, stay light on his feet, and sink his hips quickly. That shows on film as a lineman who casts aside blockers rather than stalemating them.
• Instincts against the run: he reads his keys, is alert to counters and misdirection, and takes clean pursuit angles from the interior. His 261 career tackles include 181 solos, unusual volume for a defensive tackle.
• Motor and leadership: 247Sports' in-person game report called his motor special, noted he chased nearly every play, and highlighted vocal leadership. He was a two-time captain, three-time all-state pick, two-time East Metro Player of the Year, and a Mr. Football finalist.

Areas to Improve

• Frame and length for interior work: at 6-3 with average arm length, he will face Big Ten guards who can reach his chest first. He must win with first-step timing and hand placement every snap, and he identified footwork and hand placement as his own priorities before his senior year.
• Carrying 300 pounds: the jump from 260 to 300 is large and fast. The staff needs to confirm the added mass is functional and did not blunt the lateral quickness and change-of-direction skills that were his best traits at 255.
• Pass-rush plan beyond power: his sack production (7, 4, 7 across three seasons) lagged his tackle-for-loss numbers, consistent with a player whose rush is mostly bull-rush and effort. He needs a counter move and a refined rush arsenal to be more than a run-down tackle in the Big Ten.

College Projection

Ivins projects him as a potential impact player at the Power Four level who should push for snaps sooner rather than later, and Minnesota's beat coverage lists him among the young interior linemen who could factor into 2026 playing time. Realistically he enters a crowded room with two transfers and several upperclassmen ahead of him, so the most likely path is a rotational role or a redshirt with four games in 2026, a meaningful rotation spot as a redshirt freshman or true sophomore in 2027, and a starting job by 2028. If the 300-pound version retains his quickness, the timeline compresses. He is a strong candidate to be a multi-year starter at three-technique for the Gophers, which has been a program strength under P.J. Fleck.

NFL Outlook

247Sports carries him with a fourth-through-seventh-round Day 3 projection, which is fair for the current profile. The draft case rests on a rare production history, verified lower-body explosiveness, and a violent, high-motor style that NFL scouts value in interior rotational players. The ceiling is capped by average height and length for the position, so a top-100 outcome would require him to develop a real pass-rush arsenal and post strong testing numbers at 295-300 pounds. The high floor is a rotational nose or three-technique with special-teams value; the realistic upside is a starting-caliber run defender with situational pass-rush production.

Best Fit

He fits best as a three-technique or shaded nose in an attacking, one-gap four-man front where his job is to penetrate and disrupt rather than hold two gaps against double teams. Minnesota is an ideal landing spot: it is home, the Gophers have a strong recent record of developing in-state defensive linemen, and their scheme lets interior players slant and get upfield. He would be miscast in a pure 3-4 two-gap system that asks him to anchor on the center at 300 pounds all game.