Joshua Mickens brings potential, perseverance to Ohio State football's defensive line

Will Patterson knew he had something in Joshua Mickens. All he had to do was watch the film.

The Lawrence (Indiana) Central High School football coach, hired ahead of Mickens’ sophomore season in 2020, saw an anchor of his defensive line with great athleticism off the edge and burst out of the three-point stance.

To Patterson, Mickens was the prototypical mismatch, a player who would later take the attention of two or three offensive lineman.

But Mickens was a basketball player first, a power forward who used little more than God-given athleticism to consistently get to opposing backfields on the football field.

Patterson knew where Mickens’ future lay, and it was not on the hardwood.

“I just told (Joshua Mickens’ mother Lavonnya), ‘There are some 6-4 forwards in college basketball,’ ” Patterson said. “‘Not very many. If they are, their ability is probably a little better than him.’

“(His) bread was going to be buttered in football.”

Larry Johnson also saw that potential in Mickens' length and athleticism. In the Indianapolis native, the Ohio State defensive line coach saw his next 'jack,' a versatile defensive end who can be utilized both as a rusher and out in coverage.

“I will kind of do what Jack Sawyer does right now,” Mickens told the Dispatch. “It’s able to showcase how versatile I can be."

Mickens, who previously committed to LSU, was the defensive end Ohio State wanted, securing his letter of intent on early signing day and joining Will Smith Jr., Jason Moore and Kayden McDonald as 2023 newcomers to Johnson’s room.

Joshua Mickens cements football future

By his sophomore year at Lawrence Central, Mickens fixated his future on football.

But instead of throwing his basketball skills away, he used them to his advantage, allowing him to play quick on the edge and hold leverage against each tackle he faced.

“Basketball has really helped with my footwork, just working on it and just being able to move around people and move in little spaces,” Mickens said. “So that’s kind of helped being a defensive lineman like me at (defensive) end being able to be athletic. When I’m on the football field, I’m going to be athletic too.”

As a junior, no offensive line had an answer for what Mickens could do, turning that physicality into 23 tackles-for-loss, 12 sacks, five quarterback hurries and five forced fumbles.

Even as a senior, when Patterson said Mickens wasn’t a "surprise" anymore, the defensive end still recorded 74 tackles, 20.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks.

“As Josh got bigger and stronger and more developed going into his senior year,” Patterson said, “it became more of a reality that he is one of the best guys at his position nationally.”

While Ohio State's communication with Mickens proved to be "up and down," starting on a high at the end of his sophomore season before tapering off as other targets became priorities.

Even after he committed to LSU, Mickens continued to work for Ohio State’s attention, getting bigger and showing enough improvement to earn the Buckeyes’ offer after the team’s win against Indiana.

And when he returned for an official visit during Ohio State’s loss to Michigan, Mickens was sold, rescinding his commitment to the Tigers and joining the Buckeyes nearly a month later.

“That was one of the schools that I primarily wanted to go to,” Mickens said. “Being a Midwest kid, you grow up and that college is Ohio State.”

Why Joshua Mickens moves his commitment date up

Mickens’ plan was set.

With Ohio State as his pick, he initially planned to announce his commitment during the All-American Bowl Jan. 7 in San Antonio, Texas.

But as he thought about it, Mickens realized how much he wanted his community to be a part of his announcement.

“They’ve always believed in me. They’ve had a lot of support for me,” he said. “So that was just something I personally wanted to do for them.”

In the past year, Mickens’ community has been his support system.

Mickens’ father Arnold, who set 18 NCAA Division I-AA game, season and career football records in two seasons as Butler’s running back before playing three games for the Indianapolis Colts in 1996, died in January 2022 at age 49.

Arnold was who Joshua said he turned to, serving as his football mentor and sounding board even when he saw football as his secondary sport to basketball.

“They bonded over (football),”  Lavonnya Mickens said. “(Arnold) had such high expectations for (Joshua) when they came to it. He could really just sit down and talk through it. It was a great bonding time for the two of them.”

Patterson and the rest of the Lawrence Central coaching staff poured into Joshua Mickens as he navigated the loss of his father.

“As a kid, as a person, you've got to embrace it and decide to not be OK and be OK with not being OK,” Patterson said, “and just trying to find a way to get better and move forward.”

'It's kind of gotten a lot clearer'

Relationships led Mickens to Ohio State.

His relationship with Johnson was key, he said, while also being swayed by the track record of past Buckeye defensive lineman. To Patterson, Mickens' relationship with Ohio State was much more consistent than with LSU.

Relationships are what Lavonnya wants for her son at the next level, something she watched Joshua have with his father.

“He’s leaving me, and I think his father felt the same way. … He’s going to have to go somewhere where the coaches, you know, it’s really going to be a mentoring experience,” she said. “It’s going to make him a better man. Coach Johnson is outstanding, just knowing that under his leadership, his mentorship, that he will be a better person.”

Patterson sees great potential.

“They’re getting not just a good football player, but a great human being that is somebody (who) is good to be the face of the program,” Patterson said. “That’s what he was for us, and no doubt, with some development and as he continues to mature, he’ll end up being the face of Ohio State football."

Mickens and Patterson have talked about going to Ohio State next summer aspiring to match or exceed the production of his father's storied collegiate career.

After the year Mickens has had, he said perseverance will always be a part of his story.

“At first, it was kind of cloudy like it was early on in the process,” Mickens said of his mindset after he lost his father. “Like now, it’s kind of gotten a lot clearer.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Joshua Mickens brings potential, perseverance to Ohio State defense