A Penn State homecoming for Ohio State's Larry Johnson

Larry Johnson earned a reputation as an outstanding recruiter, an elite defensive line coach, and an excellent role model for college football players during his 18 seasons as a Penn State assistant - 16 to Joe Paterno and two to Bill O'Brien.

But when the athletic administration of the university looked to hire a new head coach, officials twice passed over him in favor of O'Brien in 2012 and James Franklin last January. Johnson then said goodbye to Happy Valley, not knowing where his next job would be.

A new job, however, surfaced almost immediately when Ohio State coach Urban Meyer asked him to become assistant head coach and defensive line coach, meaning fans of Johnson over the years will be shaking their heads Saturday night to see him on the visitors sideline at Beaver Stadium wearing the scarlet and gray of the Buckeyes.

In a conference call Monday with media members who cover Penn State, Johnson said he holds "no bitterness at all" toward his old school.

"It was my decision to leave and it was my time to move on," he said. "I felt that Coach Franklin was coming in with a new staff, and I knew he had a D-line guy [Sean Spencer] that he really liked a lot. I just felt it was the right thing to do. It was a tough decision to make, but looking back, it was the right decision."

Johnson, 62, didn't directly address a question about whether he thought he had received a fair shot both times he applied for the head coaching job.

"I was fortunate to be a candidate for the head coaching job in both situations," he said. "I spent 18 years there as an assistant and I felt pretty good with my time there. It wasn't quite the title I was looking for. I'm at peace with myself. I'm at peace with the decision I made."

At Penn State, Johnson developed current NFL players Devon Still, Jared Odrick, Jordan Hill, Tamba Hali, Jack Crawford, and Cameron Wake, and seven first-team all-Americans in all. He also recruited the talent-rich mid-Atlantic region in and around Washington.

Johnson was Penn State's interim head coach between O'Brien's departure and Franklin's arrival. He said he was prepared to "take off a couple of months and relax, even a year" when he left Penn State, but Meyer's offer came less than a week later.

"I thought it was a great opportunity to continue coaching and I kind of jumped at it," he said. "I wasn't looking for it. It just presented itself in the right way."

Johnson said friends and family will attend Saturday night's game. As for his own emotions returning to Beaver Stadium, he said, "You don't know until you get there" but added, "I don't think I'm going to have that much emotion where I'm going to show it going into the game."

And he harbors no ill will for his former employer.

"Really, I wish Coach Franklin the best as he moves forward and he moves the university forward and the football program," Johnson said.