Paris Johnson Jr. lights up room in first Arizona Cardinals public appearance after draft

Paris Johnson Jr.'s first official public appearance as an Arizona Cardinal was a big hit. He said a lot of the right things about his new employer at his introductory news conference Friday afternoon at Cardinals headquarters.

The offensive lineman from Ohio State, drafted No. 6 overall Thursday night, said he's willing to play wherever the Cardinals coaches want him up front. He complimented his new head coach, Jonathan Gannon, who like Johnson is an Ohio native. He spoke of a chance meeting with Cardinals legend and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Aeneas Williams at the draft, and how Williams mentored his father when the elder Paris Johnson was a Cardinal for a brief time 24 years ago.

"For him to be there for my dad, for anyone who was around in the building when he was here, he's not the best listener. For me I'd say it's my full circle moment," Johnson said of Williams. "And maybe I can be a guy teaching about his experience. He's a Hall of Fame dude, he's a legendary Cardinal, you know what I mean?"

That response ended Johnson's comments for the day. Many in attendance inside the team's auditorium applauded.

There was so much more. Johnson told a story about meeting the quarterback he is to protect, Kyler Murray. He spun a yarn about seeing the rooftop of a condominium near the Cardinals' facility, and when he showed it to his mother Monica Daniels, she informed him that the complex was where his father stayed when he was a Cardinal.

He pledged to be all about football during the season, then learn more about his new home in the Phoenix area and how he can continue his personal mission of community involvement.

"The feeling of being able to give back, my mom instilled that in me, to be part of something important, somebody's life. Be part of something that's great. The Bible says you get that back tenfold, right?" Johnson said.

Meet Paris Johnson Jr. Who is the Arizona Cardinals first-round draft pick?

Amid all of that, he joked about playing free safety, with a playful cringe from general manager Monti Ossenfort off to the side of the podium from where Johnson spoke.

"I am here to help the team win," Johnson said. "When a team wins, every individual person wins. So whether I'm at guard, whether I'm at tackle, on the left side, ... it doesn't really matter."

Johnson acknowledged his mother, seated in the front row and looking on with pride. He hopes to continue something he started in high school, making a difference with community involvement. But before he sets out to learn more about his new home in the Phoenix area, he pledged to be all about football.

"The feeling of being able to give back, my mom instilled that in me, be part of something, be part of somebody's life," Johnson said. "Be part of something that's great. The Bible says you get that back tenfold, right?"

His mother called her son "a comedian who loves to talk." She called him a "merciless dog" on the football field, which she loves, but also a person with a human side that people get to see.

"I call him a Renaissance man," Daniels said. "I think it's just God giving him little nuggets along the way. I'm extremely blessed for Paris to be a 21-year old man that still asks his mom for advice."

More: Cardinals have plenty of talent to target in second round of NFL draft

Johnson was in Arizona about 17 hours after hearing his name called on Thursday.

"It's been a whirlwind. But it's all been great. It's all been what I wanted. So I'm happy, my mom is happy," Johnson said. "She's waited 24 years for this, you know what I mean? Since my dad was last here, so now it's time to do this right."

Ever the considerate one who thinks of others, Johnson had the room in fits when he looked over at Ossenfort and said that he will meet with the general manager about drafting his Ohio State friend and former teammate, fellow offensive lineman Luke Wypler.

"He would love to be here," Johnson said, smiling at Ossenfort. "No pressure."

'It shouldn't be like this': NFL moms Ertz, Hurst, Watt push NFLPA on charity education

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Arizona Cardinals' Paris Johnson Jr. won the room at his intro