Update on 2020 QB commit JD Johnson who had to medically retire in HS
Remember JD Johnson? He was a QB commit to Jim Harbaugh & the Wolverines in the class of 2020. JD received an agonizing diagnosis prior to his arrival on campus - a rare heart condition known as "Coarctation of the Aorta.”
"I was told that I did not meet the clearance standard to continue playing a contact sport for fear that my aorta could rupture," Johnson wrote, "or that not enough blood would get to my brain causing an on field stroke." JD's playing days were over... but his Michigan football story did not end there.
"Coach Harbaugh called after receiving the news of my test results. Unsure and scared to what the conversation was going to be, Coach, without hesitation, said that my scholarship would be honored and offered me a position to join the Wolverine staff and help anyway I can. I am witness to Coach Harbaugh’s character and integrity in a situation where he has every reason to tell me, 'Good luck with your future.' He means what he says, and stands behind his commitments, when he could have taken the easy way out. He demonstrated a high level of loyalty to a player that will never throw a touchdown pass for him."
JD has been a part of the staff since, often being seen with the quarterbacks... He is a 3 time Big Ten Champion, a National Champion, & as of today, a University of Michigan graduate.
Congrats to you JD! Forever, a Michigan Man!
Awesome. And congratulations, JD!
Congratulations JD!!
Good luck with your future endeavors 👍
Instead of wishing him luck, if you're half the man Harbaugh is, you should offer him a job.
He's overqualified for mowing my lawn, the only job I could offer him.
No one is over qualified to mow a lawn
-my dad
Mowing, raking, pulling weeds, shoveling snow and carrying my golf clubs.
These are the only jobs I could offer...
He was seen on the sidelines at the spring game, so hopefully his future endeavors involve continuing to coach here.
Surprising they didn't find his coarctation till then. I would've thought he'd show some symptoms playing football at a high level.
Thats what I was thinking! I remember hearing he had a "heart condition" but didn't realize it was coarctation. Scary stuff. Awesome story though, glad he's doing well.
Karma is real... It's why important to ALWAYS do the right thing.
Tremendous.
Congrats getting your degree JD. If JD had a healthy heart, I wonder if he would be the starting QB? He would have gotten an extra COVID season.
Man!!! God Bless you JD, and as always and forever,"GO BLUE!"
Congrats young man!
Thanks for posting, and congrats, JD!
This clip resurfaced during the NFL Draft regarding how footage of Spencer Rattler in the Netflix series QB1 still has an impact on how front offices view Rattler. The clip is of Rattler having an exchange with high school teammate JD Johnson which reflects very poorly on Rattler. This is why you should never go on reality TV, but especially before your frontal lobe is fully developed and definitely not before you're 18. Rattler might've matured and grown up but that footage from when he was 17 will never go away.
I'd never seen that show or that clip in particular. Massive kudos to JD Johnson for how he handled Spencer Rattler being a complete asshole.
I’m amazed at how JD handled that because I know 18 year old me, if in JDs position, would’ve fired that football through Rattlers face from 10ft away.
I watched that show years ago and Spencer Rattler was such big asshole it still sticks out in my mind to this day. I here or see him I associate it with what I saw on this show. He literally shows you what you don’t want in a QB. Tate Martell showed that aswell in his QB 1 show.
I see someone act like this and I think this is exactly how some adult treated him at some point when he was younger. This is learned behavior. Some adult did him wrong. (the other day, I was driving and heard females yelling at each other. I thought it was two teenagers fighting. I looked over to see a mother and daughter walking down the street. The mother hit the teen girl, who was probably 15, and screamed at her, "That was a dumbass move! You're a dumbass!" And I thought this is how it's perpetuated)
That or he'd been told his entire formative years how amazing he was and that nothing was ever his fault.
Either way, a sad development. I wonder if his struggles at OU and South Carolina humbled him at all. He was supposed to be a surefire #1 pick coming out of HS.
I know a kid who was a talented athlete but whose parents told him he was better than everyone else and that pretty much sunk him. He just couldn't work hard and take any kind of direction, and he flamed out early in high school. They had such lofty dreams for him (telling him when he was in middle school he might be playing football for Oregon someday) and didn't take into account his lack of maturity or the fact that talent is great but if you can't grind it out, no coach is going to want to deal with you. And he certainly wasn't talented enough for a coach to look the other way on that.
Culture.. the definition of leadership - begin at the top.
I wonder how many SEC teams would have honored the academic aspect of a scholarship if this situation had arisen with one of their prospects.
Thats is a great story !
I hope he got a veggie cheeseburger for his trouble.
That's awesome!
Great to see this update. Thank you, OP.
This says a lot about JD, but even more about Harbaugh. When sleazy promises for illusory playing time and NIL seem commonplace, it is refreshing to see such character in a coach. Not only a winner on the field, but a shining example to the kids who play for him.
Congrats to all of the graduates.
JD is truly an a-MAIZE-ing young Michigan Man for having persevered, despite the disappointment he surely felt when he learned of his heart condition.
And it reflects on the kind of leader Coach Harbaugh is. The NCAA, the Harbaugh haters, Tiny Peteetee, the whole bunch of them can kiss my heinie.
Thank you for sharing this! Awesome story and young man.
I thought he transferred a few years ago.
This is fantastic.
And yet some continue to label him a cheater while excusing others who either fostered abuse or brazenly broke recruiting rules for years.
A heart-warming story in so many ways.
That's awesome
So he never ended up transferring after he got the go ahead to play again? Never knew that.
Congrats JD!
When did he get an approval to play?
I never heard that.
Looks like he was cleared in 2021 and entered the transfer portal
Looks like he didn't get any offers so he returned to UM