Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson drafted in the first round of 2022 NFL draft

LAS VEGAS — A former Florida State University football player had his name announced during the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.

Jermaine Johnson II, a defensive end, was drafted No. 26 overall by the New York Jets in the first round of the draft.

He attended the draft in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Johnson played one season at FSU and made his mark.

Johnson was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021 college football season.

During his only season in garnet and gold, Johnson played in 12 games, tallied 70 total tackles, with 12 sacks and 18 tackles for loss.

According to FSU athletics, Johnson is Florida State’s 46th first-round NFL Draft pick, the 10th-highest total from any program in the nation, and the 13th Florida State defensive lineman selected in the first round.

Johnson’s selection gives the Seminoles at least one pick in 39 consecutive NFL Drafts, a streak that dates back to 1984 and is the eighth-longest streak in the country entering this year’s draft. He is the 293rd NFL Draft pick in program history and the 202nd Seminole to be drafted during the 39-year streak.

Johnson was one of the most impactful pass rushers in the country last season after transferring to Florida State from Georgia. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, native was a first-team All-American, first-team All-ACC and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He became the first player to earn a conference offensive or defensive Player of the Year award in his first season with an ACC program and joined FSU quarterback Jameis Winston, who was the 2013 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, as the only players to earn an ACC Player of the Year recognition in their first season of ACC competition.

Johnson started all 12 games last season and recorded 70 tackles, 18.0 for loss with 12.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, 12 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery. He led the ACC in tackles for loss and sacks, and his sacks total was the highest for an FSU defender since DeMarcus Walker in 2016. Johnson’s tackles total was the most among all Power 5 defensive linemen, and he was the only Power 5 player with at least 3.0 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss in multiple games.

He saved his best moments for the brightest lights, registering a career-best 5.0 tackles for loss and a career-high-tying 3.0 sacks in FSU’s 31-28 win over Miami. No player in the history of the FSU-Miami rivalry has recorded more tackles for loss in one game, and his tackles for loss and sacks totals were both single-game highs for any ACC defender in 2021. In the season opener against No. 9 Notre Dame, played on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend on ABC, he made a then-career-high seven tackles, 2.5 for loss with 1.5 sacks, and was the first FSU defender to reach those benchmarks against a ranked opponent since Brian Burns in 2017. Burns was FSU’s most recent first-round selection, going 16th overall in 2019 to the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson previously played two seasons of college football at the University of Georgia.