The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1083898
HONORS • Was selected as a 2018 Under Ar- mour All-American. He stood out all week in practice and made one tackle with a pass breakup in the game. • Recognized as a 2018 All-Met honor- able mention by The Washington Post. • Earned the 2018 Mush Dubofsky Award, which is given to St. John's Col- lege's team MVP. • As a junior, was named to the Wash- ington Catholic Athletic Conference all-conference second team as a wide receiver, and was tabbed as the MVP of the WCAC championship game. RECRUITMENT • Pledged to Michigan on July 3, 2018. • Michigan safeties coach Chris Par- tridge spearheaded his recruitment, and defensive coordinator Don Brown was also heavily involved. • Chose Michigan over Alabama, Boston College, North Carolina, Penn State, Maryland, Syracuse and Virginia, among others. QUINTEN JOHNSON SAFETY 5-10 • 193 ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE H.S. (WASHINGTON D.C.) SILVER SPRING, MD. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 182 16 1* ✪ ✪ ✪ 492 36 3* ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 35^ 4* ^ Ranked as an athlete; * ranked in Washington, D.C. 2019 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY ANDREW HUSSEY While safety Quinten Johnson hasn't always played on the defen- sive side of the ball, he plays like he has been there for his entire life. The Washington, D.C., product has only been on defense for a few seasons, but he's shown enough to be one of Rivals' top 200 players in the 2019 class. He is confident in his abilities, but he knows he still has a long way to go. "It's still kind of fresh because most of my career has been playing on the offensive side of the ball," Johnson said. "Ninth and 10th grade, I played more on the offensive side of the ball. "I still feel like I'm raw, but I see that's where I have the most room to grow. I feel like I can check anybody, high school or college." According to St. John's College High head coach Joe Casamento, Johnson is a freak athlete. "He covers space and he's aggres- sive," Casamento said. "He's a play- maker. That's what athleticism does for you. You make plays and you're quick and you're fast. "You get where you need to be as fast as you can get there. That's what he can do." The move to defense wasn't easy, but Johnson's superb athleticism — evidenced by his No. 8 national fin- ish in Nike's The Opening Football Ratings — helped him succeed. "The transition at first, it was kind of challenging, picking up the speed of the game," Johnson said. "It all came to help me out in the long term because you pick up stuff playing re- ceiver. At free safety, you learn more technique and … it can do nothing but benefit you at strong safety." Johnson's ability to make the right the play on the field is partly owed to his physical traits, but Rivals. com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman also pointed out that Johnson's football IQ stands out and makes him a special football player. "He's able to quickly diagnose plays and be in the right place at the right time," Friedman said. "He does a good job with pre-snap reads and understanding what the offense is trying to do. It helps creates turn- overs and big stops." Johnson also said his IQ is one of the distinguishing parts of his game. "My ability to slow down the game and talk through route combinations and pick up plays before they hap- During his junior and senior campaigns, Johnson compiled a combined 106 tackles (16 for loss), 16 passes broken up and seven interceptions. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 44 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2019 2019 Projection If Johnson indeed ends up play- ing viper at Michigan, there's a chance he could be in the two deep as a freshman basically by default. When 2019 rolls around, Khaleke Hudson will be a senior and there isn't much proven depth behind him so Johnson could re- alistically battle his way onto the depth chart. Johnson might not be needed as a true freshman, but he could be one of the top options off the bench at the spot, depending on how things shake out with other linebacker/safety types. STATISTICS Year Tackles TFL Sacks INT PBU FF FR 2018 35 10 1 2 5 3 1* 2017 71 6 — 5 11 — — 2015 67 2 — 2^ — — — *Returned it for a touchdown; ^ returned one for a touchdown Year Rushes Yards TD Rec. Yards TD 2018 — — — 12 158 1 2017 5 8 2 20 383 8 2016 18 96 2 4 82 1 Quinten Johnson Brings High Football IQ To Michigan