ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Last year, when Michigan football needed a play defensively, it was always Mike Sainristil who seemed to come up the biggest. Sainristil had two pick-sixes last year, tied for the most in school history — along with players such as Brandon Watson and Brandon Herron. Coming into 2024, Will Johnson was seen as potentially the best Michigan cornerback since Charles Woodson (Woodson actually had no interceptions returned for touchdowns in his Michigan career), but Johnson had just one pick-six (at Minnesota last year), but he not only tied the record in a hurry, he surpassed it.
Johnson had an epic pick-six to put the game away in Week 1 against Fresno State, but his second this season (third of his career) was even more epic. Sitting back in zone against a suddenly white-hot USC offense, Johnson baited quarterback Miller Moss to throw in the flat to star wideout Zachariah Branch and Johnson came from seemingly out of nowhere to steal it away and rush to the endzone with a cavalcade behind him.
Crediting film study for the epic play, Johnson says he had an awareness for what Moss wanted to do and saw the right opportunity to make a play on the ball.
“It really was just instincts, kind of just getting the feel for it throughout the game and just knowing the way they were kind of moving the ball throughout the game,” Johnson said. “Things they liked throughout the week, just preparation — knowing the kind of things they like on certain down and distance. And then once I really saw it, just trusting and believing in it and going to do it.”
PICK SIX WILL JOHNSON.
ANN ARBOR IS GOING CRAZY. pic.twitter.com/2U1iVdOGKS— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 21, 2024
Johnson is already blessed with tremendous athletic talent, but he says it takes more than that. That’s why he studies so hard in the film room because talent without preparation doesn’t generate the type of results as it does with studiousness.
But it also takes a bit of instinct to make a play like Saturday’s happen, too.
“Yeah, I mean, I think does that a lot of it,” Johnson said. “You can be as prepared as you want to in the film room, but if you can’t take it to the field and apply it in those types of moments, then it really doesn’t matter. So I think a lot of that’s kind of instincts too, and just having that feel and just trusting your preparation and trusting your instincts and just going out there and doing it.
“But yeah, I think preparation allows me to play that comfortable and have that ease in my mind. But at the end of the day, it’s just having that confidence in yourself and pulling the trigger.”