The Michigan Wolverines' football program picked up a huge commitment on the recruiting trail this afternoon, reeling in Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South five-star cornerback Will Johnson.
He is rated as the nation's No. 13 overall player and the country's No. 4 cornerback. To get a better understanding of the elite skill set he possesses and the significance of his pledge to U-M, we spoke to three of the best recruiting experts in the nation to break it down — Adam Gorney, Josh Helmholdt and Tom Lemming.
Gorney is a national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and Helmholdt is the outlet's Midwest scouting expert, while Lemming — who has been covering recruiting since the 1970s — is the co-host of CBS Sports' The Lemming Report and the editor of Prep Football Magazine.
Adam Gorney
Could you describe Johnson as a player for someone who's never watched him play before?
“He’s super rangy and that’s what stands out most about him. He’s a legit 6-2, 6-3. Johnson covers a lot of ground because of how long he is. It’ll be interesting to see how elite his speed is because he can already cover guys down the field without a problem.
"He also plays offense and has hands like a receiver, so he can not only contest balls and knock them down, but also pick them off. Johnson basically has a safety’s body and a cornerback’s mindset.
"He’s a cornerback long term because of his athleticism, and the way he can cover ground and compete for the 50/50 balls.”
What is Johnson's single biggest attribute on the field?
“It’s something you can’t teach — his length. He reminds me of [current LSU cornerback] Elias Ricks and [current Georgia cornerback] Kelee Ringo in that respect, both of whom have tremendous size at the spot.
"Johnson is not someone you’ll worry about against bigger receivers because he'll be able to lock up big physical receivers on the outside. It’s nice to have that size and insert it into your system and let guys like him go out and play, because you’ll never have to worry about his length against outside guys in the Big Ten.”
