PFF grades Michigan cornerback second-highest in CFB

Pro Football Focus grades every team in college football weekly.

Through two weeks, Michigan true freshman cornerback Will Johnson has the second-highest man coverage grade in the country, according to PFF, at 88.3.

Minnesota cornerback Terell Smith leads college football with a 91.4 man coverage grade.

Johnson was the centerpiece of Michigan's 2022 recruiting class, finishing ninth in Rivals' team rankings.

Out of Grosse Pointe, Mich., the 6-foot-2, the 182-pound corner came to Ann Arbor as the No. 1 cornerback recruit in America and the fifth-best overall.

After giving up the lone touchdown against Colorado State, Johnson rebounded swiftly with standout performances in the first two games, despite that play.

"Your first game, your first college action as a freshman. It says a lot that he's out there, that he's playing in that role. A perimeter fourth corner on our depth chart right now. He's got huge upside, no doubt about it," Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the Week 1 game against Colorado State. "Treat it as a learning experience."

So far, the freshman phenom is outliving the hype in limited snaps as a depth corner in his first year at U-M.

Johnson should get a high snap count in Michigan's final non-conference game this weekend against UConn.

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