ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was a matchup everyone was looking forward to: Michigan’s best cornerback, Will Johnson, and Ohio State wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., thought to be the best receiver in the country.
It wasn’t just fans or the media who were hyped at the notion of the battle between the two. Johnson himself was excited to test himself against Harrison on Saturday.
“Probably the biggest matchup I had this season, so I was definitely locked into it,” Johnson said. “A lot of preparation went into it. And I give a lot of credit to him. He’s a great receiver. So I was definitely amped up for it and was willing to take on that task this week.”
It didn’t take long for Johnson to get the better of the matchup. On the third Ohio State drive, he positioned himself with inside leverage in case Harrison was going on a slant route. So when quarterback Kyle McCord locked in on his receiver, the former five-star defensive back was in a position to make a play.
And he made it.
“I kind of had an idea what the play might have been and what they might have ran and he was probably gonna run that slant,” Johnson said. “So I’m really just trying to kind of bait him into it a little bit and not let them know that I knew it was coming. But jumping once I saw it, so after that ball just was right there when I saw it and tried to score it.”
But did Johnson expect that pass and that he’d come up with a pick? Seeing the formation helped, but for the second-year Wolverine, the biggest part was just leaning on his preparation for The Game.
“Just where you position yourself — inside or outside of the receiver,” Johnson said. “He’s going inside and maybe put yourself outside? Just vice versa and things like that.
“I think I’ve probably got better a little bit. Just as far as — that’s more preparation to kind of know what’s coming. And I’m able to do that because I knew that that might be what the play was coming at me. So a little bit of preparation helps with that for sure.”
It didn’t take long before Harrison returned the favor.
Streaking down the sideline, Harrison had Johnson beat and the Michigan cornerback got in early to make the tackle — before the ball even arrived. It was a heady play given that if he hadn’t, considering the ball placement, that would have likely been a long touchdown. Instead, he stalled the Buckeyes and lived to fight another play.
“They caught us in that in the perfect defense to run that, that route on us,” Johnson said. “So it was kind of a hard position for me, but I was in the point just to chase him and try to get him down and make a play on the ball. It was kind of underthrown. So my mindset was just get him down and not let them score anything. So yeah, he made a great catch, still. I didn’t even know where the ball was. I was really just trying to get them down when I could.”