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starting safety spot next to incumbent
redshirt sophomore Adon Shuler two
games into the season, and he's more than
held his own, totaling 22 tackles, 2 passes
broken up and 1 interception through
Week 6. That becomes more impressive
when you realize just how new he is to
the position.
"He's an amateur safety," Muhammad
said. "There really is no ceiling for this
dude."
Muhammad compared the 6-foot-2
Johnson to Kyle Hamilton. No one who
saw him reel in 2 interceptions on the first
day of fall camp, including a spectacular
leaping grab, would disagree.
"Tae-Tae is, man, he's one of those
guys you just love to coach," Freeman
said. "He enjoys it. He's grateful for the
opportunity. He's an extremely athletic
player.
"If you listen to Tae-Tae, he'll be the
best wideout and the best DB. And he was
pretty good in high school with both."
Johnson would probably be a future
star somewhere other than South Bend
if not for the impact of two people. The
first is Freeman, who helped bridge the
gap between Johnson's upbringing and
Notre Dame.
"Where I'm from … you don't really
get too many people who go to Catho-
lic schools and stuff like that, private
schools," Johnson said. "It wasn't some-
thing I was used to, you know? And he
helped me through that."
"You don't typically think about Notre
Dame when you're an inner-city athlete,"
Muhammad said. "Freeman was a really
big part."
The second is Smith, for whom John-
son wears No. 9 — the same No. 9 he
watched on his screen all the way back in
third grade.
"He's had a huge impact, to be
honest," Johnson said. "We're
both from the same side of town
in Fort Wayne, the south side
of town. Just two south-side
kids coming to Notre Dame
and taking full advantage
of it.
"That's the biggest
impact he's had on me,
and I feel like that im-
pact is gonna help
me change the tra-
jectory of my
family." ✦
