Pete Thamel provides update on Washington RB Dillon Johnson ahead of national championship

The status of Washington RB Dillon Johnson will play a major factor in the national championship of the College Football Playoff tonight. Now, with a few hours until kickoff, Pete Thamel has the latest on the health of the Huskies’ leading rusher.

Thamel shared an update on Johnson’s availability for the title game in Houston on ‘College Football Live’ this afternoon. Based on his information, Johnson could be as good as “close to 90%” after an increased workload over the last few days of practice leading up to the championship.

“Behind me, in a few hours, all eyes on warmups will be on Dillon Johnson,” Thamel said. “I spoke to two sources at Washington this morning and they told me that there’s increased optimism about Johnson’s availability and how quality he’ll be with an injured knee and ankle.”

“I think the most important thing about Johnson that I learned this morning is he practiced 80% of the snaps two days ago on Saturday and had 100% of practice snaps yesterday,” continued Thamel. “One source told me he expects Johnson to be close to 90% when the game kicks off.”

However, while the 90% evaluation is a positive after he went down in the Sugar Bowl last week, it might not be where he stays throughout the contest. As Thamel added, the coaching staff for the Huskies is focusing on how much he will be able to handle over four quarters against No. 1 Michigan tonight.

“Another source cautioned me,” added Thamel. “What the staff is really concerned about is will he be able to hold up at that percentage for all four quarters?”

In his first season with the Huskies after playing at Mississippi State, Johnson broke out. He rushed for career-bests across the board with 222 carries for 1,162 yards and 16 touchdowns. In the team’s two postseason games, Johnson has rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns against Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship and Texas in New Orleans.

His injury in the final minutes of that win over the Longhorns inside Caesars Superdome, though, has been an important storyline over the last week. After receiving help to get off the field, his status for the title game tonight inside NRG Stadium has been up in the air.

Still, per Thamel’s update, it appears that he’s going to give it a go against the Wolverines with a championship on the line. Even so, his status and usage as the game drags on could be worth nothing if that injury does flare up and slow him down.