Name: George Johnson III
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 193 lbs.
High school: Stuart (FL) Martin
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Johnson #94 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 58
Johnson had a pretty quiet first year in Ann Arbor, which was fully expected. A high school quarterback, he spent the 2019 season transitioning to wide receiver. He earned Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week for the Illinois game, but otherwise, things were pretty quiet.
Now Johnson has reportedly moved to cornerback, his third position in three years. Michigan does not have a lot of depth at cornerback, but I would expect Johnson to be at or near the bottom of the depth chart. He didn’t even have spring ball to help get acclimated to the position, so players he might have surged past are probably still watching him in the rearview mirror. I expect this season to be another year of mostly standing on the sideline.
Prediction: Backup cornerback
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While I agree with taking athletes, it seems all too often we get a tweener who is athletic, but not at a “Play Me’ level. Instead, they bounce around positions for a few years, never mastering any
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I generally think if you’re still bouncing between positions in year two, things are iffy. If it’s year three or later, things are not trending positively for a kid’s career. (For example, Michael Barrett bouncing back and forth between RB/LB as a freshman was fine. Phillip Paea going back and forth between OG/DT as a redshirt sophomore does not bode well.)
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Chase Winovich played LB and TE the first two seasons before moving to DE.
Jordan Glasgow spent his junior year at safety, senior year at viper, and 5th year at ILB.
https://touch-the-banner.com/2018-season-countdown-51-jordan-glasgow/
Jeremy Clark moved from safety to corner his senior year.
http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2015/07/2015-season-countdown-47-jeremy-clark.html
All of the above were drafted in the last few years.
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Position switchers who did not do so hot: Jaylen Kelly-Powell, Reuben Jones, Ron Johnson, Wyatt Shallman, Ross Douglas, Lawrence Marshall, Jared Wangler, Royce Jenkins-Stone, Tom Strobel, William Campbell, Allen Gant, Keith Heitzman…
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A failing player is more likely to change positions but a player changing positions isn’t more likely to fail.
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A position switch is a symptom of not succeeding yet. That doesn’t mean position switchers are doomed to fail, and nobody claimed that.
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I think there’s limited truth to that if you aren’t paying attention. Since we are, we have other information. We already know “the trend”. The player not succeeding is what is symptomatic of not succeeding. You already know if a rising junior or senior has done anything or not. You watched the games and read the insider or practice reports and heard the coaches talk about them.
You already knew that Teric Jones or Reuben Jones were non-contributors buried deep on a depth chart and getting passed by younger players. They are grasping for a second chance. In RJS’ case it worked out, in JKPs it didn’t. The move itself didn’t tell you anything new about if they are failing or not.
Just like it didn’t when Denard got hurt, Devin filled a need at WR, Cole shuffled between tackle and center, Peppers jumped between DB positions, Glasgow got his shot at ILB, or Chase grew into a viable edge player.
Maybe there is a small handful of times where you read about a position-switch and thought “well I guess that guy just doesn’t have it, I’m surprised by that” but usually you already knew it. With most position-changes you are for more likely to think to yourself “well that makes sense given what we know” about roster, injury, growth, ability, etc.
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In a way, there are two kinds of position changes. There are the Devin Gardners, Denard Robinsons, and Jabrill Pepperses of the world who are going to be successful regardless of what position they play because they’re dynamic. Those guys were all highly sought after recruits who could run real fast, and two of them could throw the ball somewhat effectively.
Yes, if Ben Mason is switching positions, it does not mean great things for his career. He was a fine fullback, but does he have an NFL future at FB, TE, DT, DE, or LB? We’ll see, but he’s certainly no kind of college star.
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Mason and Gardner are similar in that they ‘switched’ positions their junior year to fill a team need while maintaining their limited role at their ‘home’ position.
The big difference is that Gardner had a home position to go back to while Mason’s seems to be getting phased out.
The NFL is a different topic but Mason’s pro career may not be much different from Gardner’s.
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Neither stood out at their new position, despite starting. It’s impressive they could do it anyway.
Neither is remotely a failed player IMO. These are tough kids who put the team interests before their own.
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I don’t remember referring to anyone here as a failed player/failure.
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My God, comparing Mason Cole and Jabrill Peppers with a guy who played QB in high school, WR as a RS, and flipped to Corner – without doing all … that’s a leap of Lank proportions!
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I suspect George Johnson IS Mason Cole, suited up in an elaborate disguise.
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Most of the best pass rushers Michigan has had have been tweeners of some sort. From undersized NTs (Hurst), oversized WDE (Charlton), or LBs who end up with their hand on the ground (Clark, Uche and Winovich).
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Switching on the same side of the ball might signal versatility. Switching between O & D might signal uncertainty
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Or greatness in the case of Woodson and Peppers.
Or maybe just really goodness – Mike Onwenu was a 3 year starter, all-conference player, and NFL draft pick on offense yet people on here insist he would be far better on the other side of the ball and wanted him to move through his senior season.
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Woodson & Peppers played BOTH sides, but specialized on one side of the ball, and were drafted there
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Guys switch sides of the ball for a reason. If you’re moving from S to LB, the coaches might be trying to get their best 11 on the field. If you move from OL to DL or from WR to CB, you pretty much weren’t hacking it where you were. William Campbell, James Rogers, Quinton Washington – heck, even Drake Harris was practicing at CB at one point – all didn’t do much. Campbell made it to the NFL, but he was a far cry from a 5-star producer.
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Guys switch positions for a reason, regardless of sides of the ball. It’s not necessarily indicative of failure.
Ben Mason was a good FB.
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