Name: Quinten Johnson
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 203 lbs.
High school: Washington (DC) St. John’s
Position: Safety
Class: Sixth year senior
Jersey number: #28
Last year: I ranked Johnson #36 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He made 22 tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 5 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 79
As a fifth year senior in 2023, Johnson seemed to be . . . superfluous. It's rare that players at Michigan stick around for a fifth year during the transfer portal/grad transfer era rather than going elsewhere for more playing time. Even though it was clear Johnson was headed for a backup role, he chose to come back. I actually felt a little bad for him since Makari Paige and Rod Moore were entrenched ahead of him, and then he was passed by the younger Keon Sabb, just a sophomore in 2023.
And then . . . the light seemed to come on for Johnson. In the last third of the season, he seemed to have figured things out. The numbers don't necessarily support that anecdotal conclusion (his PFF grades were fairly consistent), but he was making some big plays in big games, particularly a pass breakup against Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka:
Thank you Quinten Johnson pic.twitter.com/w2rBe8idAD
— JJ McCarthy Fan (@JJOneOfOne) February 2, 2024
Johnson originally chose to leave Michigan after 2023 and attempt to make it to the NFL, but Rod Moore's ACL injury and Sabb's transfer to Alabama opened the door for him to return. Instead of being almost a surefire backup, he had a real chance to earn a starting gig. Even though the Wolverines brought in Wesley Walker from Tennessee and Jaden Mangham from Michigan State, it seems like Johnson will be the starter opposite Paige, partly due to his familiarity with the defensive system.
Prediction: Starting safety
QJO had one of the more surprising late career turnarounds I can remember. A career backup who was thrown into the fire against TCU as a senior (and looked like a liability while doing it) came back for a 5th year and emerged to play a key role leading up to a massive 37 snaps against Alabama to get us to the national title game. And he thrived while doing it.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how the coaches determined playing time between him and Sabb (Johnson was limited to special teams in the national championship game but played more snaps than Sabb against Alabama and OSU) but the fact that they were both trusted to play heavy snaps in critical situations on an elite defense is high praise for both.
Hopefully year 6 will be his best year yet(at least individually).
There's no making up the loss of Moore and Sabb ... but it's also very difficult to measure the importance of this much experience in big moments. QJ is battle tested, and at a minimum can be a coach on the field
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