Michigan football is coming off of its first National Championship since 1997, and the defense led by Will Johnson and Mason Graham was a huge part of it.
The Wolverines’ defense shut down Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and now the Wolverines’ high profile defenders are in position to bring home some individual awards this season.
On Monday, June 5, the preseason watch list for the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy was released, and it included the two aforementioned Michigan football defenders.
Will Johnson’s Sensational Season
Last season, Johnson alternated between Charles Woodson and Darrelle Revis territory as Michigan’s best starting cornerback.
Sometimes, opponents did not want to throw his way. Other times, they threw at him and often paid the price as Johnson recorded four interceptions and four passes defensed.
This season, Johnson has been named to the preseason Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list. The award is given annually to players who demonstrate ‘excellence in athletics’ and recognizes college football’s Defensive Player of the Year who best exemplifies the IMPACT acronym, which stands for ‘Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity.’
The award is named after NFL Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott, the Alburquerque, New Mexico native who played from 1981 to 1994 with the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders and New York Jets.
Johnson has the size at 6-foot-2, 202 pounds to play any position in the defensive backfield. Alongside second round draft pick Mike Sainristil and former UMass transfer Josh Wallace, Johnson formed one of the best trios of cornerbacks in recent college football history.
This season, Jyaire Hill is expected to start opposite Johnson at the other boundary cornerback position, which could help Michigan football to become one of the best defenses in the country yet again.
Mason Graham’s Outlook for 2024-2025
Mason Graham entered college as a four-star defensive tackle out of Anaheim, California. A high school wrestling champion as a heavyweight, Graham dominated opposing interior linemen in the regular season en route to memorable performances in the Rose Bowl and National Championship Game.
Graham is a stout 6-foot-3, 318 pound defensive tackle who impacts the game in a wide variety of ways. He is equally capable of stuffing the run and racking up quarterback sacks, of which he had 2.5 in 2022 and 3 in 2023.
Transfer portal rumors this offseason proved to be untrue as Graham appears set to reprise his role as Michigan’s most disruptive interior lineman in 2024-2025.
Graham has a
Mason Graham to the transfer portal rumors:
pic.twitter.com/f8JucW9veG— 〽️att Hartwell (@MaizeCrusader) March 25, 2024
Graham is on a list with Johnson that includes the following players:
Rueben Bain, DL, Miami
David Bailey, LB, Stanford
Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
Dontay Corleone, DL, Cincinnati
Cobee Bryant, CB, Kansas
Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio State
Howard Cross III, DT, Notre Dame
Tacario Davis, DB, Arizona
Tre Freeman, LB, Duke
Ashton Gillotte, DE, Louisville
Johnny Hodges, LB, TCU
Travis Hunter, CB, Colorado (Hunter is on the cover of the upcoming College Football 25 video game)
Jeremiah Carter, S, Iowa State
Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson
Abdul Carter, DE Penn State
Landon Jackson, DE, Arkansas
Nick Emmanwori, CB, South Carolina
Dani Dennis-Sutton, DE, Penn State
Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Deonate Lawson, LB, Arizona
Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
INTERCEPTION BENJAMIN MORRISON ! ☘️ 3ÈME FOIS QUE NOTRE DÉFENSE INTERCEPTE CALEB WILLIAMS !
LETSGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
— Notre Dame France ☘️🇫🇷 (@NotreDameFR) October 15, 2023
James Pearce, DE, Tennessee
Jabbar Muhammad, CB, Oregon
Malachi Moore, S, Alabama
Andrew Mukuba, S, Texas
Colin Ramos, LB, Navy
Harold Perkins, LB, LSU
LSU LB Harold Perkins is the early candidate for best defensive player in the 2025 NFL Draft.
He’s primarily an edge rusher (10 sacks and 41 pressures in 2022), but is also an elite cover linebacker, allowing just a 73.1 passer rating in 2023.
Here we see him guarding the best… pic.twitter.com/MxKrxFn3FN
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) February 26, 2024
D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana
Kamari Ramsey, S, USC
Nic Scourton, DE, Texas A&M
Quinn Schulte, S, Iowa
Kaimon Rucker, DE, North Carolina
Dillon Thieneman, S, Purdue
Kaimon Rucker, DE, North Carolina
Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Danny Stutsman, LB, Oklahoma
JT Tuimoloau, DE, Ohio State
Deon Walker, DL, Kentucky
Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
Marlowe Wax, LB, Syracuse