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SALT LAKE CITY — Jackson Powers-Johnson made the most of his only year as the starting center at Oregon.
The Corner Canyon High product won the Rimington Trophy given to the nation's top center after earning first-team All-American honors from the AFCA, Associated Press, FWAA, Sporting News and Walter Camp.
Next stop: the NFL.
Powers-Johnson was selected with the 12th pick of the second round (No. 44 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft Friday by the Las Vegas Raiders.
The 6-foot-3, 328-pound interior lineman from Draper led all FBS centers in 2023 with an overall grade of 84.3 and a run-blocking grade of 95.2 by Pro Football Focus, which also ranked him second in pass blocking at 90.6.
With Powers-Johnson at center, the Ducks led the nation in passing offense (346.9 yards per game) and second in scoring offense (44.2 points per game), second in total offense (531.4 yards per game), and 30th in rushing offense (184.5 yards per game).
The two-time Pac-12 offensive lineman of the week and three-time Joe Moore Award pancake of the week led Oregon with 37 total knockdowns on the season, with multiple knockdowns in 12 of his 13 games played as a senior.
Along the way, Powers-Johnson became — as one Fox Sports reporter wrote it — the "most interesting man in the draft."
"The hay's almost in the barn," said Powers-Johnson, who also played guard. "It's been a lot of fun, being able to visit all these new cities, meet all these great people and coaches. It's been a really fun process."
The player nicknamed "Big Jax" has a burger named after him at Elkhorn Brewery in Eugene, Oregon, that features two Angus patties, two slices of cheese, two strips of bacon, pulled pork, a scoop of mac and cheese, barbecue sauce and queso.
He dabbles in choir, counting Brooks and Dunn's country hit "Neon Moon" among his favorite tracks, and once autographed a football at the NFL Combine with the name "Turd Ferguson" — yes, he knew it was a nod to SNL's "Celebrity Jeopardy" — before he later found out his uncle bought the souvenir collectible.
Born Jackson Light, he later took his mothers' maiden name Powers when he turned 18 during his senior year in high school, and then added the name of his stepfather, James Johnson, who has raised him since he was 3 years old.
After a year of dominating the Pac-12, the Senior Bowl and the NFL draft combine with a 32-inch vertical jump, 8-foot-8 broad jump and 30 reps on the bench press, Powers-Johnson will now take that name to the NFL.
