Michigan football defensive back Will Johnson didn't need to say anything specific — his body language did the talking.

On Tuesday evening, shortly after the Wolverines finished their third practice of the week (they practiced Sunday since it was a bye week) in Al Glick Fieldhouse, Johnson walked into Schembechler Hall, through the double doors into the Towsley Museum and stood, back to the wall, ready to face an onslaught of questions from reporters.

Naturally, much of the near 10-minute discussion was focused on the defense and its struggles. Just one year after leading the nation in total and scoring defense and finishing No. 2 in pass defense, the Wolverines have become one of the leakier secondaries in the nation.

U-M has allowed 71 pass plays of 10 yards or more — 128th out of 134 teams in the country and better than only Northwestern and Wake Forest in the Power Four — despite already having had their bye. Johnson, now in his third year in Ann Arbor, has never been a part of something like this.

"All comes down to knowing your assignment, knowing where your help is, film study and being prepared for game day," he said. "Doing that throughout the week will help you be ready for the games. But we've got to be better. Can't let them get (those big plays).

"Be disciplined, have good eyes and make plays when the ball comes to our side."

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In an offseason full of changes, perhaps no room went through more transition than the secondary. Last season, the Wolverines had defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as a specialist in the secondary, aided by longtime guru Steve Clinkscale and DB aficionado Jay Harbaugh. This year, defensive backs coach Lamar Morgan is the sole expert in the secondary.

Last year, it wasn't just Johnson as a proven defender, but Josh Wallace (a fifth-year starter who would go on to become an NFL talent), Rod Moore (a projected potential Day 2 NFL selection), Mike Sainristil (a top-50 pick in April's draft) and Makari Paige rounding out the starters.

This year, after the losses of Sainristil and Wallace to the NFL and the loss of Moore to injury, it has been on young players such as nickel Zeke Berry and cornerback Jyaire Hill to step into those roles, while Brandyn Hillman has filled in as a rotational piece at the safety spot.

"Definitely disappointing, but all we can do is try to get better every day from now," Johnson said of the dropoff from 2023. "Try to fix those mistakes, but yeah, I know what both sides look like, so you've got to do your part.

"When they throw the ball and have success they're going to keep doing it. So we can't let them have success when they throw the ball."

Part of the reason for the fall can be attributed to the fact the back end has been extremely banged up.

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Not only did Moore tear his ACL in the spring, but secondary reinforcements like Aamir Hall (a transfer from Albany), Jaden Mangham (Michigan State) and Wesley Walker (Tennessee) have all missed time, while the man competing with Berry to replace Sainristil, Ja'Den McBurrows, has also suffered a long-term injury, according to his head coach.

However, to say U-M fell all the way to No. 111 against the pass (259.8 yards per game) solely because of depth pieces wouldn't be entirely fair.

In an unusual turn for Johnson, he seemed to imply the calls haven't always been ideal and said the players are doing their best.

"Sometimes, it's not always just the defender," he said. "We've got certain calls we've got to execute, certain things like that. There's a lot of factors that come into it, at the end of the day you've got to execute the call, do what you're supposed to do. ... comes down to being prepared."

So what has led to the big dropoff from Team 144 to Team 145? The answer may reside on the other side of the ball. A season ago, wide receivers Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson, both of whom are now in the NFL, would line up with a future top-10 NFL drafted quarterback throwing them balls.

The routes were tight and detailed, the passes precise and accurate. The battles in the trenches featuring offensive linemen such as Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan, Drake Nugent, LaDarius Henderson and Karsen Barhart against defenders such as Jalen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, Kris Jenkins as well as Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant became the stuff of legend.

As the team loved to say, iron sharpens iron, as each side of the ball felt fully convinced they were going against the best unit in the country. The mentality became "if you can stop this person across from you, nobody in another program can beat you."

It turned out prophetic, as the Wolverines went undefeated and won the national title. On Tuesday, Johnson was asked if the same battles are happening in practice.

"Um, yeah, I would say we're still getting tested," Johnson said after a long pause. "I mean, yeah, we're still getting tested."

He clearly did not want to throw his teammates under the bus, but Johnson's reaction as well as the statistics the receivers have put up through the first half of the season tell a different story. All the receivers in Ron Bellamy's room together have combined for 31 catches for 289 yards and two touchdowns; no Wolverines wideout has even reached 80 receiving yards on the year.

Whether U-M is getting tested in practice or not, Johnson knows it's on him to step up as the leader of the unit and find a way to switch the mojo.

He said even when he's away from football, he's always trying to take one step forward, whether it's meditating for his mental health, or sitting in his shift-wave chair intended to help improve neuro-cognitive thinking.

Johnson knows unless the unit can prove it will slow teams down through the air, it will continue to get tested. He has faced 25 targets and allowed 15 grabs for 187 yards while Hill and Berry have combined to allow 76 catches.

Even in smaller stats, like pass breakups, the defensive line is doing more than its share with 10 batted balls while all members of the secondary have 26 breakups. This includes Grant who has more (four) than Johnson (three).

There's no denying the Wolverines secondary hasn't been up to standard. It's somewhat surprising, considering it returned not only an All-American, but seemed to have more than 10 either proven pieces or highly regarded recruits ready to step into any vacant roles there may be.

Despite the struggles for the secondary, Michigan's defense still ranks No. 3 in the nation against the run (76.3 yards per game).

For Johnson, that means stepping into a more vocal role.

"I feel comfortable (yelling) if I've got to do it," Johnson said about raising his voice. "Anytime I see something that I feel needs to be nipped in the bud, I say it. I try to be positive too when something's positive, but yeah, there's definitely things we need to clean up and we all know we've got to do that. So yeah, I feel comfortable doing that."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football DB Will Johnson 'disappointed' with secondary