Michigan cornerback Will Johnson is one of the consensus top 2025 NFL Draft prospects. The Wolverines corner showed the sizzle that makes him so appealing in Michigan’s win over USC in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Johnson stepped in front of a quick Miller Moss pass to the short left and caught it on the dead run. He didn’t stop until he was in the end zone and had Michigan Stadium threatening record decibel levels.
Will Johnson pick 6! pic.twitter.com/o0kfJ0LyTC
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) September 21, 2024
It was effectively the only positive play of the entire third quarter for Michigan, and the defensive score saved the day in the 27-24 win in the Big Ten debut for visiting USC. It also helped boost up Johnson and his draft profile despite what was an otherwise underwhelming game for the 6-foot-2 cornerback.
Being at the game, much of my focus when USC had the ball was on the Michigan secondary. Two things stood out about Johnson’s game:
–USC wasn’t afraid of throwing his way
–Johnson was an apathetic run defender
Moss and the Trojans were careful to only throw in front of Johnson, just as Fresno State and Arkansas State had done. Johnson plays off-man and some zone, and he cedes the shorter routes and (very frequent) comeback routes that teams target in front of him. USC threw four like that his way. All four got caught–but the last one was one that Johnson caught.
Johnson left the game with an apparent shoulder injury after getting truck-sticked by USC running back Quinten Joyner on the drive after the pick-six and did not return. That was Johnson’s third missed tackling opportunity of the afternoon, including an edge contain assignment where there wasn’t much apparent effort to get off a block and make a play. Postgame reports indicate that Johnson could have kept playing.
How scouts view Johnson’s game will depend on what they’re looking for in a corner. This wasn’t the first Michigan game I’ve attended where Johnson didn’t seem really engaged with his fellow DBs and preferred to let others make tackles in the run game when he could have been involved. However, his playmaking panache and closing burst to the ball are exceptional, something Johnson has proven time and again.
