The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 105 I wasn't last year, but to be that vocal leader for them that they might need. A lot of guys definitely have to learn the de- fense, and they're new. It's about helping them learn, helping them get accustomed to how we do things around here. "It's just being somebody they can hold accountable, being somebody that they know works, and being somebody that will be there for them. "[Defensive back] Mikey [Sainristil] did a great job of being a leader last year. He's everything you wanted in a leader. I defi- nitely picked up a lot of things from him and a lot of other guys like Blake and J.J., other guys that were here before. It's just being there for them, doing what I can do, and just trying to do that every day." There's still a lot of great talent on the team, he noted, and the work ethic among the returnees has been fantastic. It will be a different team, but the men- tality will be the same, Johnson assured, to do everything in their power to win another title. It starts with establishing the new foundation, he said, of which he'll be one of the cornerstones. As much as they've been the hunted and will be again, given that they're three-time de- fending Big Ten champions and the 2023 national champion, many are doubting this year's squad given the personnel losses to the NFL. Staying there is harder than getting there, they say, but that's the goal. "Reaching the mountaintop and get- ting a taste of that type of victory adds to the motivation of wanting to stay up there and get back there," Johnson said. "All we really know is winning. I've only lost one game since I've been here. I don't want to change that for anything. "We have a lot of great team goals — obviously, to win a national champion- ship, a Big Ten championship, beat all of our rivals … There are also a lot of people saying we won't be good this year. We've got a very nice schedule this year, a great, great group of guys this year, we've got some great coaches." And perhaps the best cornerback in the country, which a previous No. 2, one Charles Woodson, showed can carry a team a long way. There's even a chance Johnson will follow in Woodson's foot- steps and play a little wide receiver, though it's going to take some convinc- ing of his coaches. Whatever he does, though, will be ac- complished at a high level, the result of great preparation. Like father, like son, he's already done his part to ensure the family legacy is secure at Michigan and is ready to add one last chapter to an amaz- ing story. ❑ Johnson Is Hoping To Be Fully Healthy This Season Michigan junior cornerback Will Johnson has already accomplished a ton in his two-year colle- giate career, both personally and with his Michi- gan teammates. His dad, former Wolverine Deon Johnson (1990-94), noted he's still sometimes in disbelief that he got to see his son help lead his alma mater to a national title as one of the na- tion's best players. "I have to say, 'Wow — it really happened,'" he said with a chuckle. At the same time, he said, he wasn't all that surprised. "When he was younger, it was always a dream of his to play at Michigan," Deon Johnson said. "He would be around me and my friends, see the helmets, watch the Michigan football and basketball games. Of course, we went to some games when he was younger." Nobody could have envisioned this type of success, though, so early in his career. Johnson would have been the first corner taken in the NFL Draft last year, per many experts, had he been eligible, and that's despite not being 100 percent all year, his father reported. Watching the work his son has put in this sea- son has been exciting, Deon Johnson said. "He understands, because he didn't get the op- portunity last year because he was hurt all sum- mer," Deon Johnson said. "This year, he wants to go into the season at his best. They have a schedule daily, Monday through Friday, and sometimes he's doing twice a day. "He really works hard. He wants to be active in doing something every day that's going to help him be better. He doesn't feel he's reached his full potential. Going into the season, he wants to be at his best." Last year, he added, it took his son a little while to get his legs underneath him. He didn't play a major role until the fourth game and "really wasn't feeling his best until around the sixth week of the season. "All of last year, he probably played at 85 per- cent," he said. "Going into the season healthy, ready to go, is a really big thing for him. I think he'll do some special things this year." — Chris Balas On3 ranks Johnson as the No. 1 cornerback and No. 8 player overall in college football for the 2024 season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY