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Will Johnson injury update: Report reveals Michigan DB's status for Northwestern game

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham11/21/24

AndrewEdGraham

Michigan Wolverines football cornerback Will Johnson had a 42-yard pick-six in a win over USC. (Photo by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
(Photo by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Star Michigan cornerback Will Johnson is reportedly expected to be out this weekend against Northwestern, according to CBS Sports. Johnson has been out since last appearing against Illinois in late October.

Johnson is reportedly still dealing with a toe injury. His status for the season finale against Ohio State is not yet clear.

Johnson is widely considered one of the top cornerbacks and overall prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft, were he to leave school early.

And while Johnson hasn’t played since Oct. 19, head coach Sherrone Moore said shortly after the injury the star corner would be back.

“He’ll for sure [play again] this season,” Moore said on Oct. 28, two days after Johnson didn’t play in a win against Michigan State. “We’ll see how it works out this week and what he can do. So we’ll just let the doctors handle that… Will has no plan of just shutting it down or anything like that. If he could go out there, he would go out there in a heartbeat. I know that he’ll be back out there at some point this season, whether it’s this week, next week, whatever it is. And there’s zero doubt in my mind that he’s a competitor that wants to be out there with his teammates.”

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If he doesn’t play against Northwestern, Johnson will only have one more regular season opportunity to try and play and he’d be an obvious candidate to opt out of playing in a bowl game, should Michigan get eligible.

Johnson boasts 14 tackles, three passes defended and two interceptions this season, both returned for touchdowns.

The Wolverines’ defense has remained stout without Johnson in the lineup but has been susceptible to giving up plays in the secondary with younger players stepping into bigger roles. Even still, Michigan has tallied five interceptions in addition to Johnson’s pair of picks and defensive backs Zeke Berry, Jyaire Hill and Quinten Johnson have combined for 17 passes defended.