'I'm here for a reason': Michigan CB Will Johnson on his growth, conversation with Charles Woodson
Michigan Wolverines football freshman cornerback Will Johnson was a five-star recruit and the crown jewel of U-M’s 2022 recruiting class. He’s made an early impact, rotating in at defensive back and posting 5 tackles, and he’s continuing to grow.
Playing behind two players with a lot of experience — senior DJ Turner and graduate Gemon Green — has been a plus, too.
“Just how to come to the game and always stay ready, because they were in my position before,” Johnson said of what he’s picked up from the veterans. “So, just gotta stay ready and locked in on the sidelines, because when they gotta go out, I gotta go in, so that’s really what I’ve taken from them so far.”
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The 6-2, 194-pounder has played 107 defensive snaps — the 14th-most on the unit and second-most among freshman defenders behind defensive tackle Mason Graham (114). He has come in during the second quarter of multiple games, with position coach and co-defensive coordinator Steve Clinkscale giving him some run on drives from time to time.
“Coach Clink just tells me, stay ready, and whenever he calls me, I just go in,” Johnson explained.
Practice is competitive, but the entire defensive back group roots for each other. Johnson is trying to take snaps from some of the older guys, but he’s also learning from them.
“Everybody is playing really good, so my role right now is just to come in when they need me to,” the Michigan cornerback said. “Right now, we’re all trying to get better every day and push each other. That’s really my job is to push them to make sure they get better, and make sure I get better. They help me out, even though I’m trying to take their spot. We all just try to make each other better every single day.”
An early enrollee who joined the program in January, Johnson said it was difficult at first to pick up on Michigan’s man and zone coverage schemes, but that he’s gotten acclimated.
“Spring ball was definitely a great help for me, because I got to learn a lot. It’s a lot that goes into it, so our coaching staff really helped me out a lot,” Johnson said of the scheme. “I’m playing a lot of different positions with it, too. I think I’ve been able to pick it up pretty well. It hasn’t been too hard so far.
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“The first couple games I had to get a feel for that tempo and just being on that stage, but every game it just gets more comfortable. The coaches prepare us very well for the games, so I’m just getting more and more comfortable every game.”
The biggest thing he’s learned, though, is to stay true to himself.
“I think I’ve learned there’s a reason I’m here,” Johnson said. “Just trust myself and trust what got me here. Just play confidently, really.”
He’s wearing the legendary No. 2 that was donned by former Michigan cornerback and 1997 Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, and there are high expectations that come with the digit. He never planned on wearing No. 2, originally hoping for No. 4, but he’s embracing what comes with it.
Woodson was in Ann Arbor for U-M’s Big Ten opener as part of his duties as a FOX broadcaster, and he had a message for the youngster.
“It obviously reminds me of the legacy behind that number and just to perform,” Johnson said of looking in the mirror at the No. 2 jersey. “It’s a little motivation. Charles Woodson was at the Maryland game, and he came up to me and was like, ‘You got the number on, gotta make a play.’
“Just knowing that in my head to be good in that number is always going to push me while I’ve got it on, for sure.”
