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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — You would expect that Ronnie Bell, Michigan’s best wide receiver yardage-wise the past two seasons, would say that the best defensive back he’s seen in fall camp of his senior year would be someone like cornerback Gemon Green or one of the safeties in former five-star Daxton Hill or mainstay Brad Hawkins. However, that expectation would be wrong.
With five practices now completed en route to the Sept. 4 season opener, it’s George Johnson — the high school quarterback-turned-wide receiver-turned-cornerback-and now maybe-safety — who is turning some heads. “George Johnson still looking — is he corner, is he safety? Still looking,” Harbaugh said at Big Ten media days about his position at the moment. And while he may be up for a few different roles, he has Bell rattled when he finds himself going up against him in practice.
“You never know what you’re gonna get out of George,” Bell said. “George is a very unpredictable and very good DB.
“His technique, how he plays the game, he doesn’t necessarily do it like the rest — he doesn’t play like the rest of them. So it’s either misleading or it’s — he can catch you off-guard because he’s unorthodox.”
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Johnson has been on campus since arriving from Stuart (FL) Martin County in 2019 and now has had three position switches in that time. Apparently, now that he’s finding his footing in the secondary, it’s paying some dividends, his teammates say.
Of those teammates is fifth-year safety Brad Hawkins, who says he’s taken Johnson under his wing since he joined the defensive backs group.
“George is coming along,” Hawkins said. “He’s very aggressive. He’s a great player. He’s a great defensive back. He’s gonna also continue to learn — that’s somebody I took under my wing as an older guy. He’s somebody that’s growing every single day, getting better every single day and he’s going out there competing.”
As a recruit, Johnson was a three-star dual-threat quarterback, listed at 5-foot-11, 180-pounds. He’s now up an inch to 6-foot even and is listed at 186-pounds — down seven from his 2020 listing of 193.
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