Freshman season (2022) in a 45–23 victory in 2022 Johnson enrolled early at the
University of Michigan in January 2022, and participated in winter conditioning. He impressed in spring practice and was described as being in position to play early in the fall of 2022. Johnson became a starter as a true freshman. In total, he appeared in all 14 games, recording 27 tackles and three interceptions. Johnson recorded his first career interception versus
Rutgers, and had a two interception performance in the
Big Ten Championship Game victory versus
Purdue. Following his first season, Johnson was named team defensive freshman of the year, along with
Mason Graham, and selected to the True Freshman All-America team by
247Sports and
Pro Football Focus.
Sophomore season (2023) In 2023, Johnson was named to the
Jim Thorpe Award watch list. In total, Johnson started 12 games for the Wolverines, missing three due to injury. Johnson allowed only 17 receptions on 321 coverage snaps, including zero receptions for touchdowns. He finished the 2023 season with the second lowest QB rating when targeted in college football, adding 27 tackles and four interceptions. Johnson scored his first career touchdown on an interception versus
Minnesota. In the victory against
Ohio State, Johnson recorded an interception while defending
Marvin Harrison Jr. His most notorious interception came on a ball thrown by
Washington quarterback
Michael Penix Jr. on the first play of the second half in the
national championship game. This helped seal a national title for the Wolverines, and earned Johnson the
National Championship Defensive MVP Award. against the
Alabama Crimson Tide Following the season, Johnson was a consensus first-team All-
Big Ten selection and a first-team All-American by
Sports Illustrated. He was also selected as a second-team All-American by
USA Today.
Junior season (2024) Entering his junior season, Johnson was ranked as the best cornerback in college football by members of the media. He was widely considered to be an early first round pick in the
2025 NFL draft. In his first game of the season versus
Fresno State, Johnson recorded three tackles and had an 86-yard interception returned for a touchdown to secure a win. In week four against the
USC Trojans, Johnson returned his second interception of the season for a 42-yard touchdown. In doing so, he became the first player in Michigan football history to return three career interceptions for touchdowns. After the USC game, Johnson missed the next game against
Minnesota with a shoulder contusion. He returned the following week in game six versus
Washington, before exiting the game with an injury and missing the second half in the loss to the Huskies. Johnson did not play the remainder of the season with a
turf toe injury. Following the season, he was named a second-team All-American, finishing the year with 14 tackles and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. On December 11, Johnson declared for the 2025 NFL draft, foregoing the
ReliaQuest Bowl and his senior season. He finished his career at the University of Michigan with a 35-6 team record, two Big Ten championships, All-American honors twice and was a national champion (including being the game’s defensive MVP). In his three years, Johnson appeared in 32 games, recording 68 tackles, 19 passes defended and nine interceptions (including three returned for touchdowns). ==Professional career==