Michigan Football: Recovering Drake Johnson Leads Running Backs into Camp
By Joel Greer
Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan football team took to the turf Friday (Aug. 7) for its first day of fall camp.
There will be competition all over the lot, but the most intriguing battle could be between the five running backs vying for the starting job.
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Had Drake Johnson not torn his ACL last November for the second time in two seasons, the top position would have been his to lose.
Johnson’s latest knee injury came during his second touchdown run against arch-rival Ohio State in Columbus. At that point in the third quarter, Johnson had 74 yards in 15 carries, as Michigan was still in “The Game” trailing only 21-14. Conceivably, Johnson could have finished with a 100-yard day, and Michigan might have pulled off a huge upset.
Season lost
A former high school star at Ann Arbor Pioneer, Johnson was battling Fitz Toussaint for the starting job in 2013, but the All-American high school hurdler saw his redshirt freshman year end after two carries in the Central Michigan season opener.
Johnson’s rehabilitation period was extremely fast, as he returned for the 2014 season opener against iconic Appalachian State, rushing for 28 yards in three carries. However, 5-star recruit Derrick Green (with 174 yards) and 4-star Ohio recruit De’Veon Smith (with 115) carried the load.
Along with Justice Hayes, the foursome battled for the lead back position until Derrick Green broke his clavicle in Game 6.
Smith inherited the top slot for the next two games, but Johnson took over against Indiana, rushing for 122 yards in 16 chances.
2nd ACL injury
The job was his until he unfortunately suffered that second knee injury in Columbus.
Johnson, who finished the 2014 season with 361 yards and a 6.0 (ypc) average, is back running again but he might be held out of contact drills for a short time.
"“… He’s not yet 100% but he might be pretty darn close to that.” Harbaugh said during Thursday’s Media Day press conference.Just from the beginning he’s been ahead of schedule, ahead of schedule, ahead of schedule. We’ve had to slow him down. We’ve had to tell him, ‘No, you’re not running yet. You’re not cutting yet’.“We still want to be smart and those decisions will come from the doctors. I’m not a doctor but he sure looks good.”"
One might wonder if the surgeries have slowed the speedster. “Am I confident in my running ability?” he told a group of reporters Thursday. “Yes. Am I confident I’m still fast? Yeah, because I’ve always been fast.”
Johnson originally entered Michigan as an under-the-radar recruit since he skipped the off-season football camps. As a high school senior, Johnson was named to the Detroit Free Press Dream Team, rushing for 2,805 yards. The year before, he certainly proved his worth, accounting for six touchdowns in a 44-42 season-opening loss to perennial power Detroit Cass Tech. (Two rushing scores, two TD receptions, a touchdown pass a punt return and an interception return).
While its possible Johnson may miss the opening of the season, there are plenty of backs to take up the slack. Smith and Green are back to show their mettle, while 6-3, 240 lb Ty Isaac joins the crowd after transferring from Southern Cal.
True freshman Karan Higdon, a 5-10, 190 lb. running back from Sarasota (FL) Riverview HS, will mostly begin the season as a redshirt candidate.
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