The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/629217
COMMITMENT PROFILE suing a strong academic program in college, and the ability to spend four years at an elite institution — while playing for a top football pro‑ gram — was too much to pass up. "The campus, the stadium, what I want to major in — which is engi‑ neering, and Coach [Jim] Harbaugh is a big fan of engineering — mostly those things," Johnson said of his reasons for picking Michigan. "Who has the best university as a whole? Whose engineering pro‑ gram is the best? Whose football team? Coaching staff, my relation‑ ship with the players, how's that going to be? That's what separates Michigan from the pack." Separation is something that Johnson knows well. Although he's rated as just a three‑star recruit and the No. 19 senior in Tennessee by Rivals.com, his production at the high school level is another story altogether. He caught 87 passes for 1,713 yards and 27 touchdowns as a se‑ nior. He was No. 15 nationally in re‑ ceiving yardage at the high school level, and averaged 19.7 yards ev‑ ery time he caught the ball. He also returned one punt for touchdown and ran for a score. All that pro‑ duction led to him being named a first‑team all‑state performer in Tennessee's 5A (second‑largest) di‑ vision — and a semifinalist for the state's Mr. Football Award. More importantly to Johnson, though, was his team's success. He led Independence to a 15‑0 record and a state title. Adding a smaller slot player like him to complement outside receiv‑