With any luck, Johnson will play against the Crimson Tide “100%” come January 1.

As he stated earlier this month, Johnson “tweaked a little something” in the second half of the regular-season finale versus Ohio State, inflaming a preexisting practice injury. Prior to the Big Ten Championship Game, Johnson was “out there at practice,” but in the end, he did not play against Iowa as the Wolverines claimed their third consecutive championship.

But, as he told TMI on Sunday afternoon at a toy drive hosted alongside Semaj Morgan, the ailment won’t hold him out of the CFP.

The sophomore’s return will be key for the Wolverines against Jalen Milroe and the talented Alabama receiving corps. It also, presumably, will allow Mike Sainristil to return to slot corner — where he has excelled in 2022 and 2023.

Below is what Johnson said earlier this month about his sophomore season and the Alabama matchup:

On being named to the All-Big Ten First Team:

It feels great. I mean, that’s a dream come true. That just shows all the respect the people around the conference have for me. So it just it feels great, definitely, to have that respect from everybody.

On the matchup against Marvin Harrison Jr. and Ohio State:

That game is always like blood is pumping. That’s all you can really think about coming into the game. Me and Marv, that matchup was super hyped up before the game. So my goal was just to shut him down as much as I can. He’s a great player, so he’s gonna get his a little bit too, but it was great. I mean, it was a movie — kind of similar to that ’21 game. We got the win, so it felt great.

On making so many big plays on big stages throughout his U-M career:

I wouldn’t say I surprise myself, but it’s just crazy how it all works — how in those big moments, I’m able to make those plays and kind of be in the right position at the time. So I wouldn’t say surprise, but with the awards and things like that, even those things don’t really feel like surprising. It more feels humbling. I didn’t expect it, but I feel like I earned it. So it’s not really surprising, but I feel like I earned it.

On the secondary depth stepping up against Ohio State and Iowa:

I was mad I couldn’t play. I was stressing about it. And those guys came up to me like, ‘Man, don’t worry about it. We want you to do what’s best for you, and we got your back.’ That just shows how close we are. We got a lot of depth. We work hard to be able to play multiple positions, because we know if that situation comes up, gotta be ready. So we’ve always got each other’s back no matter what situation comes. In that situation, they had my back.

On Mike Sainristil emerging on the national stage:

It seems like they are still dozing off on him. He didn’t actually create a first-team roster or anything. Man, it’s all those kinds of stuff. They would probably be dozing off on him. I believe he was merely first team with the media in the All-Big Ten situation, as I also saw. I have no idea what the coaches have been examining all season. This guy has made plays all year long and has five picks and two pick-sixes. Next year, there will be a great player selected in the Draft by someone.

On his early impressions of Alabama and the Rose Bowl:

We had a little break this week, so I’ve been trying to take my little time away that I can. But I’ve seen what they’ve got. They’re a very talented team, but I think we’re a very talent team too, so it’s going to be a good matchup.