Defensive tackle Austin Johnson is the first Penn State football player off the board in the 2016 NFL Draft.

With the 43rd overall pick the Tennessee Titans selected Johnson in the second round. Johnson joins formers teammate DaQuan Jones on the Titans' defensive line. The Titans selected Jones in the fourth round of the 2014 draft.

“We couldn’t be happier for Austin," Penn State head coach James Franklin said. "After graduating from Penn State in just three and a half years, he is ready to move to the next level. With his size, strength and great footwork, Austin has the ability to fit a 3-4 or a 4-3 defensive scheme, which not a lot of guys can do. I can see him being a fantastic contributor for the Titans. It’s also great to see him reunited with his good friend and former teammate DaQuan Jones.”

Johnson was the sixth defensive tackle taken in the draft. He's also the sixth PSU defensive tackle to be drafted since 2003.

As a redshirt junior in 2015 Johnson finished the season with 78 tackles for third on he team, plus 15.0 tackles for 75 yards in losses and 6.5 sacks. They made for a stat line that progressively grew throughout Johnson’s three seasons of eligibility. Playing in 10 games as a freshman he totaled 28 tackles, three of which went for a loss and a sack. The following season, playing in all but one game, he doubled his tackle-for-loss numbers while almost doubling his tackle total with 27. He also added a sack as a sophomore before blowing up in that category as a junior.

Perhaps his highlight play of his Nittany Lion career was his fumble recovery that he returned 71 yards for a touchdown against San Diego State.

The native of Galloway, New Jersey earned All-Big Ten second team honors from the media and third team honors from the coaches this season. He also collected All-Big Ten first team accolades from BTN.com and ESPN.com.

Johnson earned three stars from Rivals.com as a student at St. Augustine. He was considered the No. 29 overall prospect in New Jersey for the Class of 2012. He earned his Penn State scholarship offer after a summer camp before his senior season. Prior to that his only other offer had come from Villanova.