Michigan CB Will Johnson feels the love from fellow No. 2 Charles Woodson
Michigan Wolverines football freshman cornerback Will Johnson wears No. 2, the same digit that the legendary Charles Woodson wore along with his winged helmet. With that comes an extra responsibility.
Woodson, who was working on the FOX pregame show, approached Johnson at Michigan’s Sept. 24 game against Maryland and told him, “You got the number on, gotta make a play.”
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Since then, Johnson has made huge strides and become an impact player for Michigan’s defense. He’s started three of the last five games, appeared in all 13 outings and totaled 25 tackles, including 2 for loss, 3 interceptions and 2 pass breakups. He was named a freshman All-American by On3.
Johnson notched two interceptions in the second half of Michigan’s 43-22 win over Purdue in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 3. Woodson was not in attendance, but showed some love on Twitter.
Johnson identified that as one of his favorite moments from this season.
“It just showed everybody what I was doing and made people noticed it — even him — so it was definitely cool to see that after the game,” the 6-2, 194-pounder said. “It made me happy that I was able to perform like that, and he noticed it too.”
A Grosse Point, Mich., native, and the son of former Wolverine defensive back Deon Johnson, Will Johnson has been familiar with Woodson, the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner, his entire life.
“I’ve known a lot about him,” Johnson said.
“I always knew getting the number, to have that in the back of my head, live up to that and every game try to do what I can, no matter what.”
When the game slowed down for Will Johnson
Michigan ramped up Johnson’s playing time throughout the season. There was an inflection point in his snap count beginning with the Week 10 game at Rutgers, when graduate cornerback Gemon Green did not play with an injury. That’s where Johnson got his first career interception and played a career-high 42 defensive snaps. He’s since seen more plays than that on defense three times.
A few weeks prior, against Penn State, was when Johnson began to feel more comfortable at the college level.
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“After that game, everything started slowing down more and more every game,” the Michigan corner said. “When I started getting those starts and playing full games, it definitely helped me get more comfortable.
“I think more playing time helped me, just being in those atmospheres. Getting comfortable in those atmospheres helped me. I don’t think it was the game at first, it was just getting more comfortable with the atmospheres and playing fast and not being worried about the crowd and all that, and just locking in.”
He added that his confidence level is “a lot better” than where it was when he arrived on campus in January, and credits the Michigan strength staff and on-field coaches for developing him and helping him prepare.
“The strength staff has you ready, and the coaching staff has you locked in on the game plan and what we do every week,” Johnson noted.
Co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Steve Clinkscale is demanding of his players, but they all tout how successful his approach is.
“He’s a tough guy,” Johnson said with a smile. “He gets on you when he needs to, but he still shows you some love when he needs to, too. It’s a love-hate relationship all the time, but it’s a good relationship. I think when he says [that the defensive backs give of his vibe], he’s trying to say, on the field we bring a physicality to us on defense.”
