Michigan CB Will Johnson discusses injury, game-changing pick-six: 'Gotta find a way to get the ball'
Michigan Wolverines football junior cornerback Will Johnson is the program’s all-time leader with 3 interceptions returned for touchdowns. His third was absolutely necessary in a tight, 27-24 win over USC Saturday at The Big House.
USC had tested Johnson’s side of the field in the third quarter, so he was readying for his moment to make a big play. On 3rd and 3 from the USC 31-yard line, quarterback Miller Moss dropped back and threw toward slot receiver Zachariah Branch. Before the receiver even stopped his route at the sticks, Johnson had already started darting in between Branch and the quarterback. He caught the ball in stride and was home free with a 42 yard return.
“It really was just instincts,” Johnson said Monday. “I was kinda just getting a feel for it throughout the game, and just knowing the way they were moving the ball throughout the game, the things they liked throughout the week … just preparation, knowing that kind of things they like on certain downs and distances. Once I really saw it, just trusting in it, believing in it and then going and doing it.”
At that point more than halfway through the third quarter, Michigan hadn’t notched a second-half first down, and the Trojans had the ball down four points with a chance to take the lead. Johnson knew urgency was high.
“At that time, we needed a play to be made, so that was the mindset as a defense when we went out there,” the Michigan junior said. “It’s on us — we gotta find a way to get the ball. If we don’t let them score, and we score ourselves, there’s no way they win the game. That was our mindset going out there, and I was able to do that.”
The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder has immense physical ability, but he’s also been praised as one of the hardest workers on the team. He’s a “perfectionist,” per position coach LaMar Morgan, who carries himself like a “pro,” his teammates say.
“You can be as prepared as you want to in the film room, but if you can’t take it to the field and apply it in those type of moments, then it really doesn’t matter,” Johnson said. “So I think a lot of it is instincts, too, and just having that feel and trusting your preparation and trusting your instincts and going out there and doing it.
“But the preparation allows me to play that comfortably and have that ease in my mind. But at the end of the day it’s having that confidence in yourself and pulling the trigger.”
Soon after his interception, Michigan’s stud cornerback went down with a shoulder injury. He went up the tunnel to the X-ray room, and his family joined him minutes later. He got good news and was available to return at the end of the game, but he wasn’t inserted back in.
“Just banged up my shoulder a little bit,” Johnson explained.
“It was good to know I didn’t break anything or anything like that, so just taking it day by day from here and see where it ends up.”
Michigan’s defensive backfield stepped up without Johnson. In the fourth quarter, Moss was 5-of-15 passing with 1 touchdown. The Wolverines got the final stop, turning the Trojans over on downs so the offense could kneel out the clock.
“I was just hoping we’d be able to pull it out the way we did, and those guys held it down — [graduate cornerback] Aamir [Hall], [sophomore cornerback] Jyaire [Hill], [junior nickel back] Zeke [Berry], really all the DBs, everybody on the defense. They held it down, and the offense came up clutch, too. So it was a full team performance, and I’m just glad we got the win.”
Hill (2) and Berry (1) combined for 3 pass breakups, including the former’s massive one on 2nd and 9 with 23 seconds to go. Johnson has been impressed with the growth of the pair of first-year starters in Michigan’s defensive backfield.
“They’ve grown a lot — every day, every week,” Johnson noted. “They’ve been trying to get better and focus on their preparation. I mean, experience means everything. The more you’re out there, the more comfortable and better you get, so I think each week they’ll continue to get better — and so will the defense.
“I try to help them in whatever way I can. Whatever questions they have, I’m always there for them. At practice, I tell them what I think they can do better at or what I see from my side, but I feel like the coaches do a good job, too, and every day they’re hungry and eager to learn more, too, so that’s what’s most important.”
