Consider the speculation surrounding Michigan football All-American cornerback Will Johnson put to bed.

The Wolverines were without their star cornerback in Saturday's 24-17 victory over rival Michigan State as he works through a foot injury sustained in the prior week's 21-7 road loss at Illinois that caused him to leave the field in the first half and not return.

While the MSU victory was a highlight, U-M (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) is not having the season anybody around Ann Arbor hoped, which has led to conjecture. In the new age of college football, top players opt out of bowl games when their team's major objectives are no longer in reach.

Johnson is a projected high first-round selection in April's 2025 NFL draft, and widely perceived as the top cornerback prospect. With all these factors at play, Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore was asked to put rumors to bed about any notion that Johnson wasn't truly hurt, rather sitting out games to ready for the next level.

"Oh, yeah, Will is not — Will has no plan of just shutting it down or anything like that," Moore said Monday afternoon from Schembechler Hall. "Will, if he could go out there would go out there in a heartbeat. I know that he'll be back out there at some point this season, whether it's this week, next week, whenever that is.

"There's zero doubt in my mind that he's a competitor that wants to be out there with his teammates."

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Johnson, who has missed a game against USC earlier this season, remains one of the premier corners in the nation. He has allowed 16 of 26 passes to be completed for 195 yards, no touchdowns and has two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Grosse Pointe South alum also has 15 tackles, three passes defended and is holding opposing quarterbacks to an NFL QB rating of 52.6. While it has been a solid year for Johnson, it's perhaps not as dominant as his sophomore campaign, when he became an All-American allowing just 17 completions all season to go with four interceptions.

He also graded out higher according to Pro Football Focus both overall, (78.9 in 2023 vs. 75.4 in 2024) and in coverage (78.5 in 2023 vs. 75.4 in 2024). As a result, Johnson, who was frequently predicted in the top five preseason and even cited as the No. 1 draft prospect by CBS Sports in August (which now has him No. 6) has seemingly fallen a tick. The 33rd team has him slotted at No. 14.

The insinuation to his teammates that he may be protecting his future is not something that lands well.

“Will’s in there right now, as we speak, trying to get his body right and get back on the field,” sixth-year safety Quinten Johnson said Monday. “There’s no draft-dodging or not playing for his draft status, none of that. Will wants to be out there just like everybody else, and he’s doing everything that he can to be on that field.

“Every day he’s there for most of the day, trying to grind and get back. (He’s) not saving himself for the draft or any of that. That’s nonsense.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Will Johnson injury update: Michigan DB has 'no plan' of shutting down