It’s been fun watching Michigan football add players over the past two days and the action continued on Saturday morning with the commitment of former UNLV cornerback Ricky Johnson.
Johnson was actually committed to Washington State. However, the Wolverines were essentially able to flip his commitment. He visited on Friday and the Michigan football sealed the deal with the 6-foot-1, 170-pounder corner.
Johnson has appeared in 27 games throughout his career, including just three in 2022 and a few in 2020, leaving him with two years of eligibility. He has recorded four career interceptions and seven pass breakups.
More importantly for Michigan football, Johnson provides crucial depth. He has started multiple seasons for UNLV, bringing the kind of experience that Michigan also gained with Aamir Hall, a former FCS All-American cornerback from Albany.
Johnson isn’t highly ranked, and none of the recent additions from the past four days are game-changers for Michigan. Despite losing Rod Moore, Michigan didn’t necessarily need a new starter, just solid depth, which they achieved.
As for positions, either Jaden Mangham or Wesley Walker could start at safety. Mangham seems the most capable of stepping into Moore’s role.
Walker might actually be the best option at nickel. Keon Sabb also played in the slot in some dime packages and Walker would do great there too. Even though Walker is a safety, he’s great in coverage which will work perfectly.
The Wolverines want to play a lot of sub-package defense. That requires having defensive backs who can cover and also tackle. Walker meets that description perfectly.
What I love is that at safety you have Makari Paige, Mangham, Walker, and Quentin Johnson. Those four guys played over 2,000 snaps last season and two earned All-Big Ten honors. At corneback, there’s Will Johnson, Jyaire Hill, Aamir Hall, and Ricky Johnson, not to mention Myles Pollard and Kody Jones, plus Zeke Berry and Ja’Den McBurrows at nickel.
Berry could also play safety just like McBurrows can also play perimeter corner. That’s the kind of depth you want in the secondary and without these additions, Michigan would have been betting on young players to fill those roles.
