Will Johnson injury update: Michigan star cornerback progressing, 'wants to play'

Michigan Wolverines football junior cornerback Will Johnson — a first-team All-American per Sports Illustrated last season — has missed the last 15 quarters of action with what CBS reported was a toe injury. He went down in the first quarter of an Oct. 19 loss at Illinois and has not suited up since, missing outings versus Michigan State, Oregon and Indiana.

Michigan has a bye this week, before capping off the regular season with games against Northwestern Nov. 23 and Ohio State Nov. 30. Johnson is trending in the right direction, according to head coach Sherrone Moore, who weeks ago said he expected the 6-foot-2, 202-pounder to return at some point this season.

“He’s working towards it,” Moore said on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show Monday evening. “He’s gonna try … he wants to play. He got running a little bit this week, so we’ll see how it feels as we go into next week.”

Johnson, who has 2 pick-sixes this season, is a projected first-round NFL Draft pick next season, along with some of his teammates. With the Wolverines having a 5-5 record heading into the final two regular-season games, there have been questions about if players will opt out or not give their best effort. Moore revealed those players’ mentality in a response about his top goals for Michigan’s bye week.

“I want to continue the juice, the energy, because it’s easy and it’s human nature … you’re 5-5, you’re not where you want to be, so it’s human nature for people to just coast and think about the next steps and think about what they should do next,” Moore explained. “I’ve gotten to talk to all the guys that are possible high draft picks, and there’s zero thought process of that. All of those guys want to do is go win, and that’s the thought of this team and the people around here. Our job now is to go win.”

In the meantime, Michigan has shuffled some defensive backs around. Junior Zeke Berry has been the starter at nickel back, but the Wolverines moved him to outside corner beginning two games ago against Oregon. He’s made some plays, including a pick and 3 pass breakups versus Indiana. Meanwhile, graduate Makari Paige has moved down to nickel from safety and graduate Wesley Walker has started at safety.

“Credit to Zeke, man,” Moore said of Berry’s interception that set Michigan up inside the Indiana 10-yard line. “He doesn’t get enough credit. I mean, that guy has played corner for two games, and to do what he’s been doing against some really, really good players has been awesome. So credit to him. But it was a huge, huge play in the half.

“I mean, I’ve never been nimble enough to play outside corner or nickel, but I can only imagine [making the switch from nickel to corner]. A similar comparison to me would be to play inside and then to go play tackle. You just have a lot more space. For him, it’s been pretty cool to watch him do that.”

Michigan has also seen sophomore safety Brandyn Hillman step up. He made 2 huge, clean hits against Indiana, knocking a pair of Hoosier starters — running back Justice Ellison and wide receiver Myles Price — out of the game (Ellison later returned).

“He craves it,” Moore said of how much Hillman likes contact. “He really craves hitting people. He’s been that way ever since he’s been here.

“You’ve seen the flashes of talent, but to watch him do it on game days in a big environment and great stages has been really cool to watch. Excited to watch him grow even more.”

Moore has been pleased with Michigan’s young defensive backs improving and showing it on game days. Freshman Mason Curtis, Hillman, Berry, sophomore cornerback Jyaire Hill and others have all taken steps.

“The biggest confidence builder is to watch guys getting better throughout the year,” Moore said after being asked about his level of confidence for the future of the secondary. “There’s always the piece of, we want to be perfect, we want to eliminate all the big plays, but to watch those young guys play and make plays on Saturdays has been really good.”