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Notre Dame Hopes To Reel In Four-Star Michigan Legacy

Rivals unveiled its initial top 100 recruits for the 2022 class in March, and Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South cornerback Will Johnson made the list.

Although there wasn’t a ranking order of the prospects, recruit ratings were assigned. Johnson was given a 6.0 designation, which is just one notch below 6.1 five-star status.

The lockdown 6-1, 180-pound defensive back isn’t just viewed highly by Rivals. College coaches from across the country are after Johnson. He holds offers from LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas A&M and USC.

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Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South cornerback Will Johnson
Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South cornerback Will Johnson was a borderline five-star recruit when Rivals unveiled its initial top 100 recruits for the 2022 class in March. (Brandon Brown)

College coaches can’t directly reach out to prospects until Sept. 1 of their junior year, but there are ways for them to still get in touch with the rising juniors.

“It’s been pretty busy,” Johnson said of his recruitment. “They still call my coaches and make sure I call them. It’s been pretty busy, especially with the coronavirus stuff.”

Johnson’s offer from Notre Dame came on April 23.

“I was kind of surprise because I haven’t talked to them a lot since Coach [Todd] Lyght left,” he noted. “They got a new defensive backs coach, and I got to talk to him. It seemed like he liked me and then he offered. It was exciting.”

The Fighting Irish’s new defensive backs coach is Mike Mickens, who officially joined the program in early March from Cincinnati.

“He seems like a cool dude,” Johnson said. “I just have to get to know him more.”

Johnson has been to Notre Dame twice, which includes his team participating in the program’s seven-on-seven passing camp last summer and returning to campus Sept. 28 for the Virginia game. The four-star prospect likes what he sees in South Bend.

“I can tell they put a lot of money into their facilities,” Johnson said. “I know a good bit about their academics and team. It’s exciting to see what they have.”

Johnson is the son of Deon Johnson, who played cornerback for the Michigan Wolverines in the early 1990s. Michigan will be tough to beat in this recruitment, because Jim Harbaugh’s program has been after him since last February and are the local school as well.

Johnson recorded 21 tackles and broke up eight passes during his sophomore campaign. He also did a lot of damage as a receiver, catching 37 passes for 600 yards and eight scores, to help lead Grosse Pointe South to a 7-3 record.

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