Redshirt junior defensive end Ron Johnson, Jr. has entered the transfer portal and will not return to Michigan.
Johnson was a member of the 2016 recruiting class and signed with the Wolverines out of Camden (NJ) Camden, along with wide receiver/safety Brad Hawkins (who then took a prep year). He was a Semper Fidelis All-American and I gave Johnson a TTB Rating of 83 (LINK).
However, Johnson has been languishing somewhere in the 70s of the last few season countdowns, and there just hasn’t been much progress. He bulked up to play some 3-technique defensive tackle at one point, but he transitioned back to defensive end without a noticeable move upward on the depth chart at either spot. He played one game as a true freshman and did not see the field in either 2017 or 2018. He was not expected to play a significant role in 2019, so this loss opens up a scholarship for a transfer or a walk-on.
Michigan now has just 83 scholarship players slated to be on the roster in 2019 (LINK). Not counting Hawkins (who signed again in 2017), Michigan is down to just 14 out of 28 players who signed with the Wolverines in that 2016 class.
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Transferring? Nah…impossible. It’s been proven beyond any doubt that Michigan ends the careers of non-performing guys like this with a medical dismissal.
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This one is interesting. 4star, All-American, seemingly solid prospect. Never sniffed a meaningful snap, or generated even a little buzz – not even injury buzz. Just nothing, zilch, nada
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Actually Harbaugh’s history of early departures at Michigan has had a lot of ‘interesting’ and on a variety of levels:
https://247sports.com/college/michigan/LongFormArticle/Breaking-down-every-transfer-and-early-departure-of-Michigan-football-coach-Jim-Harbaughs-tenure-with-the-Wolverines-131781516/#131781516_1
………and of course none of this addresses Harbaugh’s hiring of incompetent assistants like Drevno & Hamilton who had million$ / yr contracts thrown at them only to be fired. Yes I’m still not convinced going into ‘year 5 Harbaugh’ that the guy can Build A Team: staff or players as he seems to be starting over from scratch (which makes me wonder if he ever did know what he was doing in the first place)
2019 to me will be ; has to be the defining season or many perpetual ???? May be the Coach Harbaugh Legacy at Michigan. 2019 has to be when this thing of Harbaugh’s doing finally gels.
As I See It……….INTJohn
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