Notre Dame proved last season that no player is truly irreplaceable. They’ll have to prove it again now that All-American Xavier Watts is gone.
It won’t be easy trying to replace him just like it wasn’t easy trying to replace Kyle Hamilton before that. However, defensive backs coach Mike Mickens has done an exceptional job of developing talent and one of the players who is competing to take Watts’ spot is an exceptional athlete in Tae Johnson.
Johnson arrived at Notre Dame as raw as can be. He primarily played offense in high school because that’s where he was most needed for his team. He’s grown his game significantly while adapting to the structure of a college football program and he’s a much different player than he was a year ago.
“I would say for sure my strength. I’m getting a lot stronger than last year and I probably gained almost 20 pounds from just when I came in,” Johnson declared when asked how he’s improved the most. “Also just my coverage skills with the experience playing corner. I feel like that helped me out a lot to be able to guard anybody or guard any type of position, whether it’s a big receiver, small receiver, or tight end.”
Johnson was at corner last season after injuries forced him to move to that spot. He’s worked at corner when needed this spring, but his primary focus has been playing field safety, Watts’ position the past two seasons.
His focus isn’t on trying to win a starting job now, though. He’s following what head coach Marcus Freeman has preached and is trying to stay in the moment in order to become a better player with each opportunity he gets.
“I’m just here to work and get better every day and I know my talent will show itself,” Johnson stated. “So I’m not really worried about that. I’m just here to continue to get better and work every day. I don’t really get into who’s gonna start or whatnot because I just wanna continue to get better.
“It’s a long time until the season, so we can worry about that when that time comes around. I’m just ready to continue to get better and just perfect my personal craft.”
Like Watts, Johnson has previous experience playing receiver. He is putting in the work to try and match Watts’ football intelligence, which was what made Watts one of the best to ever play at Notre Dame. That allowed him to play fast all the time and that’s what Johnson wants to do because he knows he has the range to cover a lot of ground.
Watts was someone that Johson learned a lot from.
“I’ve seen it up close and me and him had a good relationship,” Johnson said about learning from Watts. “Sometimes when he would tell me to work on things, just critical stuff. He was just telling me stuff, but only for the better of me. So just seeing the blueprint that X had. I watched him and it definitely gives me motivation to try and follow in those footsteps.
“It’s why I come here and just try to get better every day because I have confidence in my talent. I believe I can get better and control the things I can control. Everything else will take of itself.”
Johnson also would love to incorporate a lot of things that former Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton does with his game as well.
“I’ve definitely watched Kyle’s film because when I first started getting recruited here, that was who was here at the time,” Johnson said. “He’s definitely one of my favorite safeties in the NFL right now, so I watch his film a lot because I feel like I can kind of compare to him.”
Mickens is not someone who uses hyperbole when asked about his players, so when says Johnson is “very athletic, making plays” and is “showing up faster this spring as well”, that’s a great sign that Johnson is on the right track with this development.
Johnson has as much raw talent as any defensive back on the roster and he’s putting the work to one day be mentioned with greats like Hamilton and Watts.
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