Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Ind., product Mylan Graham, a wide receiver, to transfer from Ohio State to Notre Dame for his redshirt sophomore season. "Seeing his success made this a no- brainer for me," Graham said during the spring. Graham never doubted that John- son had the kind of potential that's al- ready produced way-too-early buzz as a first-round prospect for next year's NFL Draft. But it wasn't that long ago that Johnson, who mostly played wide receiver, cornerback and quarterback at Fort Wayne North Side High School, was learning some of the basic nuances of manning the safety position. When Adon Shuler earned his start- ing safety role as a redshirt freshman in 2024, he had All-America safety Xavier Watts to help guide him along in the Irish secondary. Shuler, who served as one of the team's captains last season as a redshirt sophomore, took Johnson under his wing. "He helped me really just be a pro," Johnson said of Shuler. "That's the main thing for me, just being a pro at every- thing I do. And he stays on me about that. "It's a big brother, little brother re- lationship. I can tell him if I feel like something's off, and he can tell me, which he's been doing since my fresh- man year. So, definitely a big brother and somebody I looked up to coming in." The chemistry between Shuler and Johnson became obvious on the playing field. They complemented each other well and made it more difficult to find daylight in Notre Dame's secondary. "It's like a duo. We feed off each other," Shuler said. "If I make a play, Tae Tae's going to make a play soon and vice versa. That's always been the theme here with [Watts] and me and whoever else before that. There's always two guys to make plays. "One guy to be the vocal guy, one guy to be the wild child. That's what I call Tae Tae, the wild child." The wild child moniker, Shuler ex- plained, describes the way Johnson flies around the football field to make plays. He ends up in unexpected places in ex- pected ways, which can be difficult to deal with for an opposing quarterback. "I feel like that's a lot of my identity, and I feel like everybody has roles for the team," Johnson said. "I feel like that's my role, to make the wild interceptions, make the wild play, the wild tackle. "That's my role for the team, and that's what the team needs me to do. So, that's where I'm going to step up, and I'm going to make them plays for the team." Johnson has already become a new version of himself by requesting to be listed as his given name, Brauntae, on Notre Dame's roster rather than Tae or Tae Tae, which most of his teammates and friends call him. Notre Dame co- defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Aaron Henry quickly learned Johnson's name when he joined the program this winter. He didn't need to study a lot of film to understand John- son's potential. In a secondary loaded with talent, Johnson still stood out. "Tae Tae has all the ability in the world," Henry said. "He's super special. He's probably better than or as talented as any DB I've ever had the luxury to coach. The sky's the limit for him. It truly, truly is." The job for Henry is to make sure Johnson continues to develop and doesn't become complacent with all the praise that's come his way. Because Johnson already has the motivation of fatherhood, that shouldn't be too much of a concern. "He has to continue to be where his feet are and believe in what we're coach- ing him to do," Henry said. "But yeah, he has all the potential in the world." ✦ "Tae Tae has all the ability in the world. He's super special. He's probably better than or as talented as any DB I've ever had the luxury to coach. The sky's the limit for him. It truly, truly is." NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH AARON HENRY ON JOHNSON Johnson was a Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American in 2025 and starts this campaign as a Phil Steele second- team pre-season All-American. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2026 25