Cornelius Johnson prefers to be an a dark lit area when analyzing his thoughts.

No distractions. No outside interference. Just himself rewinding and fast forwarding possible situations that might play out on the football field.

To ponder alone sometimes isn't easy. The human mind can race like a car barreling through town to places of negativity, unable to stop without the techniques of grounding and mindfulness. But for the junior wide receiver, it's his way of burying that reminder down deep to be ready when the football is snapped.

As one of the 11 players on Michigan's punt return unit, Johnson has found his call blocking punts, having already obstructed two this season, including his first on October 23 in the home win over Northwestern.

"It's one of those things were you only get one shot," Johnson told reporters Tuesday. "All that I'm thinking in my head is like 'it may be (during) the first play or first rep.' I just think in my head anything to get myself excited for that moment because you only get one shot."

Channeling his inner Eminem, Johnson plays that picture of when that one opportunity will come. Blocking punts is already a rare feat as it is but when it does happen, it can be on the biggest stage of the year and be one of the biggest moments of the game.

The Wolverine maintained an 18-point lead with a little over 14 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Championship when Iowa took over at its own 23-yard line. After forcing back-to-back incomplete passes on second and third down, the punt unit was out.

Johnson was lined up on the edge at the left side, leaning ever-so slightly in anticipation of what was about to occur. With the ball in the hands of the Hawkeyes' punter, Johnson was already faced-to-faced with the three shield protectors, breaking the mold and extending his arms outward.

It worked. Michigan would take over at the Iowa 36 leading to a Hassan Haskins one-yard touchdown run.

"I give a lot of credit to coach Harbaugh, the special teams staff, and all of the other assistant coaches," Johnson said. "It's something that you go through all of the tape in the year and try to find those little weaknesses.

"Shout out to our scout punt team because in practice they give us a good look so we can go out on Saturdays and perform. It's everyone combined, it's never just one guy who deserves that credit, it's the whole team. You can't do it without everyone else."

It takes less than a second for the football to sail from the long-snapper to the hands of the punter. It also takes less than two seconds for the football to travel in the air after grazing the foot of said punter.

Anything more than that because of miscues and timing issue leads to unfortunate events, like a speeding wideout on the opposite end of the line ready to cause chaos and rupture the course of action.

Johnson takes his role as a special teams disruptor to heart. Hence why the seriousness of him rehearsing scenarios in his head over-and-over after hours of film and adjusting accordingly to provide the best outcome.

"Week-to-week–what you see on film is always different– there's always a different look," he said. "Being able to keep it consistent on our end, it takes a lot of discipline."

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