Michigan football star Will Johnson spoke to The Michigan Insider about his injury ahead of the CFP against Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football star Will Johnson confirmed to The Michigan Insider that he will return from injury against Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
“For sure I’ll be out there,” Johnson told TMI on Sunday afternoon. “I feel good. I feel real good.”
Barring any setbacks between now and Jan. 1, Johnson will “100%” play against the Crimson Tide.
Johnson “tweaked a little something” in the second half of the regular-season finale against Ohio State, as he said earlier this month, aggravating something that he had previously injured in practice. Though Johnson was “out there at practice” ahead of the Big Ten Championship Game, he ultimately did not play against Iowa as the Wolverines won their third straight title.
But, as he told TMI on Sunday afternoon at a toy drive hosted alongside Semaj Morgan, the ailment won’t hold him out of the CFP.
The sophomore’s return will be key for the Wolverines against Jalen Milroe and the talented Alabama receiving corps. It also, presumably, will allow Mike Sainristil to return to slot corner — where he has excelled in 2022 and 2023.
Below is what Johnson said earlier this month about his sophomore season and the Alabama matchup:
On being named to the All-Big Ten First Team:
It feels great. I mean, that’s a dream come true. That just shows all the respect the people around the conference have for me. So it just it feels great, definitely, to have that respect from everybody.
On the matchup against Marvin Harrison Jr. and Ohio State:
That game is always like blood is pumping. That’s all you can really think about coming into the game. Me and Marv, that matchup was super hyped up before the game. So my goal was just to shut him down as much as I can. He’s a great player, so he’s gonna get his a little bit too, but it was great. I mean, it was a movie — kind of similar to that ’21 game. We got the win, so it felt great.
On making so many big plays on big stages throughout his U-M career:
I wouldn’t say I surprise myself, but it’s just crazy how it all works — how in those big moments, I’m able to make those plays and kind of be in the right position at the time. So I wouldn’t say surprise, but with the awards and things like that, even those things don’t really feel like surprising. It more feels humbling. I didn’t expect it, but I feel like I earned it. So it’s not really surprising, but I feel like I earned it.
On the secondary depth stepping up against Ohio State and Iowa:
I was mad I couldn’t play. I was stressing about it. And those guys came up to me like, ‘Man, don’t worry about it. We want you to do what’s best for you, and we got your back.’ That just shows how close we are. We got a lot of depth. We work hard to be able to play multiple positions, because we know if that situation comes up, gotta be ready. So we’ve always got each other’s back no matter what situation comes. In that situation, they had my back.
On Mike Sainristil emerging on the national stage:
I feel like they still sleeping on him. I mean, he didn’t really make no first-team list or anything like that. It’s all those type of things, man. I think they’d be sleeping on him. I saw with the All-Big Ten thing, too — I think he was only first team with the media. I don’t know what the coaches were looking at all year. Dude got five picks, two pick-sixes, he’s been making plays all year. … Somebody’s gonna get a great player next year in the Draft.
On his early impressions of Alabama and the Rose Bowl:
We had a little break this week, so I’ve been trying to take my little time away that I can. But I’ve seen what they’ve got. They’re a very talented team, but I think we’re a very talent team too, so it’s going to be a good matchup.
