How Will Johnson stacked up with other five-star recruits in 2022
Will Johnson was the prized recruit for Michigan football when it signed its 2022 recruiting class. The 6-foot-2 cornerback could have gone anywhere he wanted, but the in-state standout signed with the Wolverines.
Johnson began the season behind DJ Turner and Gemon Green. During the first eight games of the season, he was part of the rotation but never played more than 35 snaps in a game, which came against Hawaii.
The heralded freshman received his first start against Rutgers in Week 10 and never relinquished the job.
Pro Football Focus came out with an article grading all 32 five-star players from the class of 2022. According to On3 Sports’ preseason consensus, Johnson was the 16th-ranked player in the class of 2022. After the season, he was the best.
Johnson finished the season with 488 snaps and was graded by PFF as the best five-star freshman with an 88.2 grade.
Johnson was a top-20 recruit coming out of high school and showed this past season that he should’ve been rated even higher.
His 91.1 grade in man coverage led all Power Five cornerbacks, while his three interceptions in man were tied for seventh among all cornerbacks.
Johnson was a freshman All-American and finished the 2022 season with 27 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions and six pass deflections.
The Wolverines lost both DJ Turner and Gemon Green to the NFL draft, so the soon-to-be sophomore will be looked to lead the Michigan cornerback group next season.
List
Too-early Michigan football 2023 schedule game-by-game predictions
