ANN ARBOR, Michigan: The Michigan Insider has confirmation from Michigan football player Will Johnson that he will make a comeback from injury to play Alabama in the College Football Playoffs.
“I will definitely be present,” Johnson said in an afternoon interview with TMI. “I feel wonderful. I’m feeling great.
With any luck, Johnson will play against the Crimson Tide “100%” come January 1.
As he stated earlier this month, Johnson “tweaked a little something” in the second half of the regular-season finale versus Ohio State, inflaming a preexisting practice injury. Prior to the Big Ten Championship Game, Johnson was “out there at practice,” but in the end, he did not play against Iowa as the Wolverines claimed their third consecutive championship.
However, he told TMI on Sunday afternoon during a toy drive that he co-hosted with Semaj Morgan, the illness won’t prevent him from qualifying for the CFP.
When the Wolverines play Jalen Milroe and the excellent Alabama receiving corps, the sophomore’s comeback will be crucial. Presumably, it will also enable Mike Sainristil to go back to slot corner, where he performed exceptionally well in 2022 and 2023.
What Johnson stated earlier this month regarding the Alabama game and his sophomore season is below:
It feels wonderful. That really is a dream come true. That merely demonstrates how much respect I have from everyone in the conference. Having everyone treat you with such respect is very wonderful.
Regarding Ohio State’s game versus Marvin Harrison Jr.:
That game never stops pumping blood. When you first start the game, that’s all you can truly think about. Marv and I were really excited about our showdown before the game. My objective was to simply block him as much as possible. It was amazing, but he’s a tremendous player, so he’s going to get his share too. It was a movie, after all, and it was somewhat like that ’21 game. It was amazing to get the win.
I don’t think I surprise myself, but it’s amazing how everything comes together and how I’m able to make those plays and sort of be in the right place at the right time during those crucial moments. I wouldn’t describe it as a surprise, but even things like accolades and such don’t feel all that shocking. It seems more humble. Although I didn’t anticipate it, I believe I deserved it. It’s not shocking, really, but I think I deserved it.
Regarding the secondary depth move up versus Iowa and Ohio State:
I was upset not to be able to play. I was worrying a lot about it. And those guys approached me and said, “Dude, don’t worry about it.” We support you in doing what’s best for yourself and want you to know that. That merely demonstrates how near we are. There was plenty of depth. We put a lot of effort into developing our multipositional skills because we know we need to be prepared in case that circumstance arises. Thus, no matter what, we’ve always got each other’s back. They had my back in that circumstance.
