Mar 3, 2017 By Jim Wexell for The 3 min read

INDIANAPOLIS — A smile crossed Dorian Johnson’s face when the Belle Vernon native was asked if he was more of a Jake’s Pizza guy or a Foster House guy.

“I like Jake’s for the pizza,” he said. “But as far as sandwiches go, it’s Foster House.”

The Pitt guard, the All-America Pitt guard, is attending the biggest job fair of his life, but he took pleasure in remembering back to his days in the old neighborhood.

“I miss it,” one of the draft’s top offensive line prospects told Pittsburgh reporters at the NFL Combine. “I miss those guys I played with. I miss all the coaches, everybody along the way.”

Johnson weighed in at 6-5, 300 pounds Thursday, down from the 315 he played at last season for Pitt. Rumor had it that the gentle giant has a “six pack” of ripped abdomen muscles, but he shyly laughed and declined to prove it. But after losing 15 pounds, Johnson’s confident of his testing today.

Back in his Belle Vernon years, Johnson played in four WPIAL playoff games and holds the school shot put record. But his highlight is a simple one.

“The highlight for me was the first start I actually made, which was against Hopewell my sophomore year,” Johnson said. “We played Rushel Shell and I had a pretty good game then. I played tackle and defensive end. We lost by seven. Rushel probably had 350 or something.”

Johnson was recruited by another former Belle Vernon star, offensive lineman Joe Rudolph. The Pitt offensive coordinator showed up once — “sometimes twice” — a week with BV Coach Aaron Krepps after Johnson was done with classes.

“They’d come down and we’d talk for hours. I felt comfortable with him,” Johnson said. “That was one of the big reasons why I committed to Pitt, the comfortability with the whole staff and then later with the players.”

Johnson defers to Rudolph as the greatest OL-man in BV history. But he wears No. 53 in honor of his favorite NFL player, Maurkice Pouncey.

Johnson played in 12 games as a freshman at Pitt, but was moved to guard because of the presence of current NFL tackle T.J. Clemmings and another Combine participant, tackle Adam Bisnowaty.

And Johnson reached the potential that his 5-star status said he would. He became a cog in the James Conner rushing show and this past season became the first first-team Pitt All-America offensive lineman since Ruben Brown in 1994.

Brown was a first-round pick the following year, while Johnson is expected to become a Day 2 (second or third round) draft pick. While he would love to join the Steelers, he understands they’re well stacked on the depth chart at all offensive line positions.

“They have some great linemen,” Johnson said, and added about his projected round: “I know a lot of guys who check the draftboards and ask their agents, but I feel like nobody really knows at this point. Anything that’s out at this point is just talk. So whenever draft day comes and I get drafted, I’m going to be happy with wherever I go.”