Previously: Last year's profiles. S Quinten Johnson, S Daxton Hill, CB DJ Turner II, CB Jalen Perry, LB Joey Velazquez, LB Anthony Solomon, LB Charles Thomas, DE David Ojabo, DE Gabe Newburg, DE Mike Morris, DT Chris Hinton, DT Mazi Smith, OL Jack Stewart, OL Nolan Rumler, OL Zach Carpenter, OL Karsen Barnhart, OL Trente Jones, OL Trevor Keegan, TE Erick All, WR Giles Jackson, WR George Johnson III, WR Mike Sainristil, WR Quintel Kent (probably).

Greenwich, CT – 6'2", 193
[247]		24/7	4*, #160 overall #24 WR, #1 CT
		Rivals	4*, #171 overall #27 WR, #2 CT
		ESPN	4*, #239 overall #33 WR, #2 CT
		Composite	4*, #175 overall #26 WR, #1 CT
		Other Suitors	Stanford, ND, PSU
		YMRMFSPA	Amara Darboh
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from yrs truly.
Notes	Twitter.
Film
Senior Year: The Darboh:

It was imperative that Michigan got a big outside receiver in this class after taking just Ronnie Bell the year previous, and they did just about a week before the early signing day when Cornelius Johnson hopped aboard. Getting there was a series of ups and downs, with Stanford and Notre Dame the perceived leaders for much of the recruiting cycle. I would have felt a lot better if anyone had bothered to mention this approximately two years ago:

GREENWICH — Dr. Cassandra Tribble opened her jacket to display the unmistakable maize block M on the upper left side of her shirt.

“Right here,” she said. “Close to my heart.”

Tribble, an anesthesiologist at Greenwich Hospital, received her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1990. She is a Detroit girl. She drops Bo Schembechler and Fab Five references.

So Johnson's mom is a doctor. Johnson's dad is an author and historian; Johnson himself sports a 1480 on the SAT; the worst school he considered was Penn State. This gentleman is a unicorn.

[After the JUMP: a unicorn with hands! Weird!]

He is also in the genre of leaping, twisting receivers who Michigan has had a fair few of over the past decade. Johnson's senior highlight reel has a large number of I-be-like-dang catches; he's the variety of WR who can go get some nonsense and turn it into yards. Touch The Banner:

…good size… excellent catch radius … body control stands out, both with his leaping and his hands … uses his hands well in subtle ways to shake defenders … finds open grass, and shields the ball from defenders. … speed is good, not great, but his ball skills and coverage awareness should make up for some of those pure speed shortcomings.

Nick Baumgardner:

…long receiver with good body control who can play inside or out….footwork is above average … doesn't waste movement with his feet at the line of scrimmage. … fires without false-stepping, and drives his defender backward immediately. … best assets are his body control and hand strength. … fluid routes…. can make an adjustment to a poorly thrown ball, make the catch, and keep himself moving forward for extra yards.

Brian Dohn:

 

Big-framed receiver with large catch radius. … Gets off line quickly, and is good against jams. Tough to re-route. Accelerates well and has good top-end speed. Tracks ball well. Knows how to use length and size to shield defender. Big, strong hands.  Needs to fine-tune route running … Sometimes fights ball

Allen Trieu:

… big catch radius. ……ability to get out of breaks and run clean routes [stands] out. His release off the line of scrimmage was fast, and he is tough to re-route. … tracks the ball well and he a knack for making the ridiculously athletic catch. … red zone threat. …strong hands. … has to make sure he is consistent with the routine catch. …not an elusive, change-of-direction receiver.

We know this person. We have seen this person do things. Johnson's probably more athletic than most of his predecessors in this department. At the Opening Finals he popped out to 24/7 as "one of the most fluid route-runners and natural pass catchers in attendance."

He also seems like a good bet to maximize his talents. Jarrett Shine, his high school coach:

“He makes incredible plays. … He’s fast. He’s bright. He’ll be able to go into any offense and understand techniques and what they’re trying to accomplish.”

And the guy who had him for a week at his all-star game:

…really carries himself with purpose and character. …He’s a learner, he’s eager, he asks a lot of questions — he’s got a bright future and you can tell he wants it."

A guy who can take the top off fairly well and also sit down in pockets in a zone. I'll take three.

Johnson arrived at his all-star game ranked inside the top 250 at two of the three sites. In an especially severe case of New England Blindness, Rivals had him the #69 WR. (I only say this to forestall the thousand comments that will result: nice.) Adam Friedman pulled out all the faint-praise words when asked about Johnson in the aftermath of his commitment:

"… solid all-around receiver … good straight-line speed and solid route running skills. …reliable …lacks elite explosiveness …hard for him to get separation from good defensive backs … needs to add strength"

This never made much sense. Johnson's testing numbers aren't Giles Jackson's but they're not that far off once you account for the fact that Johnson is a half-foot taller. He put up a 4.58 40, a 4.13 shuttle, and a 37-inch vert at the Opening; he did that at 6'2", 193. His SPARQ was only a few points off the national WR leader, and the guys who beat him out in shuttle and vert were usually 5'8" or thereabouts. I know Rivals doesn't cover the Opening any more but surely they can find his numbers.

Around here we like criticisms that don't make sense, and lo, when Johnson rolled into the AA game he detonated them:

• Helmholdt: "…caught our attention immediately … great routes. … great size … also proved to be a sure-handed receiver who can consistently create separation."
• Day one stock report: "as physically impressive as [five star Jaden Haselwood]. Both are tall, solidly-built and athletic, and when Johnson got out and ran routes he showed a smooth, effortless, athletic stride."
• His coach at the AA game responding to the idea Johnson "lacked top end speed and explosiveness": "No way. That didn’t show up here at all … he’s looked outstanding. He has a really good feel for the game and for getting open. He really understands coverage … From a physical standpoint, he’s really, really impressive."

A one-on-one matchup against 24/7 five star safety and ND commit Kyle Hamilton was an ah-ha moment for many:

#Michigan signee Cornelius Johnson with plenty of speed to get by Notre Dame signee Kyle Hamilton. pic.twitter.com/N84KW54OCl

— Brandon Brown (@BSB_Wolverine) January 1, 2019

Hamilton put up a 40 that was 0.05 seconds worse than Johnson at the Opening; one of those numbers is off. As a bonus, this incident provided a platform for motivated reasoning. Tom Loy on the above incident:

Hamilton was sticking with him stride for stride, but it seemed he was anticipating Johnson stopping at some point. However, Johnson just turned on the jets and never broke stride, as he caught the perfectly thrown ball just out of Hamilton’s reach.

My dude, for something to be just out of your reach you have to be in position to, you know, reach.

Rivals took him from Wake Forest commit territory and flung him into their top 250, and even after that Adam Gorney called out Johnson as a guy likely to exceed his new and improved ranking.

24/7 was saying similar things, repeatedly putting him him on their top performers lists ("big, fast outside receiver … made a few of the day's most spectacular catches"; "can glide to the football. … explosion out of his cuts"; "more than just a route-runner … finishing plays in traffic"). They were higher on Johnson to begin with so the move was less dramatic but he did fly up almost 100 spots in their final re-rank.

After Rivals hopped on board the list of criticisms got pretty small. One was that he needs to add 15-20 pounds to be able to crunch through attempted jams. That's just a matter of time. A couple of evaluations obliquely mention drops, which is more of a concern. It doesn't seem like it was a major one, but it's out there. Shine did mention "he's worked on his hands quite a bit." There's an implication he's not quite Avant.

Other than that, it's just the lack of a 4.3 40.

Etc.: File under amazing recruiting quotes:

"The football-specific benefits that resulted from Johnson’s physical growth have boosted Johnson’s stock."

Ya heard with football Perd!

Also in Loy gonna Loy:

There aren’t many “me” guys and this roster is really loaded with “we” guys. That said, I’m told multiple players didn’t get a great vibe about Johnson when he was on campus and that was expressed. When it came down to pushing for him and deciding if he was a true fit, the staff decided to pass and no longer pursue.

[chef's kiss]

Why Amara Darboh? Very similar physical packages; Darboh measured in at 6'2", 214 at the NFL combine and that's about where Johnson will end up. Similar verts; Darboh got to a 4.45 by the time he got to the combine and that's a number Johnson has a shot at.

On the field Darboh wasn't an outright burner but his reliability, body control, and ability to spear balls out of the air made him a very valuable player and eventually a third round pick of the Seahawks. Also his college highlight…

[Bryan Fuller]

…is pretty much Johnson's high school career highlight.

Michigan has a few different receivers in this genre to pick from now, including Junior Hemingway and Jason Avant. Tarik Black, too.

Guru Reliability:  High. Near-consensus, camps, all-star game, zero projection.

Variance: Very low. Big, smart, prototypical outside WR with demonstrated body control and plus testing.

Ceiling: Very high. Isn't Randy Moss. Probably doesn't have first-round upside. Second round, though? Sure.

General Excitement Level: Very high. Aside from plug-and-play DTs, a high-floor, high-upside jump ball guy was the most important thing for Michigan to grab in this class. Check.

Projection: Redshirting might be beside the point depending on how many receivers enter the draft, especially with Kent shelved seemingly indefinitely. If the NFL cleans out all three juniors Johnson will be one of just two scholarship veteran WRs who clearly project on the outside, three if All sticks outside.

Even if they get one back—the reasonable best-case scenario IMO—Johnson will be the #3 outside WR. That's a situation where burning a redshirt is warranted even if the resulting snap counts are low. So year one is apprenticeship, year two is a contributor with 30 catches, and then he's a near-lock to be a starter as an upperclassman.