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Newsstand: Highlights of Michigan draft prospect Will Johnson

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•about 14 hours•

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Tweets Of The Day

Michigan cornerback Will Johnson is a projected first round (and even top 10) pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, as he prepares for the next level. Here are some of his highlights from college football:

Michigan All-Big Ten safety Rod Moore, who missed the 2024 season with injury, is set to return for the 2025 campaign, he announced. More from The Wolverine’s Chris Balas:

The U-M defense started slowly but got it together by the end of the year, playing some of its best football. Senior safety Makari Paige played arguably his best game in a Michigan uniform, picking off a pass and laying a hit on quarterback Will Howard that arguably changed the game and had the signal caller looking nervous the rest of the game.

But Moore was the defense’s quarterback, and he was missed. Before the safety’s injury, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale compared him to one of the better safeties he’d ever coached in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.

“Rod Moore, he’s the safety that — and I’m not talking about play-wise or anything else — smart-wise, football knowledge-wise, all that, that’s exciting to me, because there are a lot of checks that have to be made on the field,” Martindale said. “The head pieces, the earpieces coming in now, which is great because that’s what I’m used to … there are still signals going to be going on. Rod is like, ‘If they go hurry up, what should we do?’ Call the defense. You can’t be wrong. He’s that smart.”

Michigan’s Beau Mantanona has been named the Big Te Freshman of the Week, having notched two top-20 victories.

Michigan forward Will Tschetter shares his mental health journey:

Quote Of The Day

“Here’s the good news — he checks all the boxes. He’s tall, athletic, lengthy, can move. Has the God given talent to do those things. In the championship game playing against a kid from Valdosta that had to be 400 pounds, I had flashbacks to Refrigerator Perry (from the 1980s) and his brother, Michael Perry, who played for the Eagles in the one season I was in Philadelphia. I had to try to move him in run blocking, but you can’t block that dude. There’s no moving guys like that in run blocking.  Watching Hattar try to move him, I said, ‘okay … I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt here against other DTs.’”

— Former Michigan offensive lineman Doug Skene on new O-lineman Lawrence Hattar

Headlines Of The Day

• Chris Balas, The Wolverine: Opinion and analysis: Will Lawrence Hattar start on the Michigan offensive line?
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Portal Insider: Michigan interested in two Notre Dame transfers
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Blue Chips: Michigan staff sees more key 2026 recruiting targets on the road
• Clayton Sayfie and Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: Podcast: Way-too-early rankings, betting odds and previewing Michigan basketball vs. Purdue
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: On300 OT Johnnie Jones excited about recent offer from Michigan

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