Tae Johnson Excited to Learn Safety Position at Notre Dame
Brauntae Johnson will go down as one of the better prep players to come out of Fort Wayne as he started for North Side for four seasons and played a variety of roles on both sides of the football.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder started his career with a bang by recording 36 catches for 596 yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman in 2020. As a junior, Johnson tallied 69 catches for 1,081 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Last fall, the former four-star prospect was asked to play quarterback, where he ran circles around defenses before he was shut down due to a labrum injury, which required surgery.
“I’m fully cleared for all playing stuff,” Johnson said. “I'm still doing a little bit of therapy just to have no questions about it and make sure I’m in the best position possible before we go on the field.”
Johnson will now be tasked with learning the safety position at Notre Dame. It’s a position he played in high school, but there was zero structure as Johnson was the best athlete on the field.
Learning the finer points of technique and coverage will be his challenge over the next few months and, likely, his first year at Notre Dame.
“It’s been trial and error at this point,” stated Johnson. “I have great older guys in front of me, Xavier Watts and Adon Shuler. It’s really been trial and error with them - making mistakes on film and they’re helping me out. We’re coming back to practice and fixing it the next day. It’s really just learning.”
Sure, there will be a steep learning curve, but Johnson believes his receiver background will help him transition to the secondary.
“It’s little things in the receiver’s game that can give a hint to the defensive back,” explained Johnson. “Those are things that will help me translate to DB, but really the ‘hands’ part of the game, being able to attack the ball at any angle, being able to get picks with my instincts as a wide receiver and translate that as a defensive back.”
Johnson is looking forward to embracing the physical aspect of playing defense—and Notre Dame defense, which is built on physicality.
“I’ve been tackling since Metro Youth Sports, so that’s probably the most natural thing in my game on the defensive side,” stated Johnson. “Finding the ball, making tackles, making ankle tackles running sideline to sideline. That’s pretty natural for me. I still have to clean up the technique but it’s a natural part of my game.”
Notre Dame returns All-American Xavier Watts along with rising sophomore Adon Shuler and graduate transfer Rod Heard II, which will make it tough for a true freshman to see the field, but Johnson isn’t letting that impact his mentality.
In fact, Johnson has his sights set on making contributions on special teams.
“That is my first path to get on the field,” said Johnson. “We’ve already watched film with Coach (Marty) Biagi and he told me he gives everybody a shot to be on the field in special teams, so that’s the first way I can get on the field. I’m going to take full advantage of that.”
It’s a mature approach and the foundation of Marcus Freeman’s program. Johnson understands there is a process and everything matters at this level.
“My first impression is that it’s business now,” Johnson explained. “You can’t really mess around, you have to be about your business and it’s detail-oriented now for sure. The smallest details matter. At a college level, it’s all about the small things you do. That’s really my focus, the small things that matter to coaches and matter to the team.”
Johnson will now look to carry on the long legacy of Fort Wayne athletes at Notre Dame. In fact, he trained at the same facility, Traction AP, that produced Tyler Eifert, Jaylon Smith and Ben Skowronek, among many other Division I athletes.
“That was one of the main reasons why I did come to Notre Dame, the great pipeline it has from Fort Wayne to Notre Dame to the NFL,” stated Johnson. “I feel like I am one of those guys now and I just want to make the most of that opportunity. That’s a big reason for sure and I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity to make the most of it.”
The man behind Traction AP is owner and CE) Dre Muhammad, who is also the nation’s top private receiver coach.
Muhammad has worked with Johnson since middle school and played a significant part in his recruitment to Notre Dame.
“He helped me the most out of anybody during my high school career,” said Johnson. “He made sure I put in the work and made sure I was prepared for everything. He took me to all the camps that I needed to go to. He trained me.
“I appreciate Dre and what he’s doing with the guys in Fort Wayne. He’s probably the most important person in my whole recruitment process.”
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