Drake Johnson done with football/Grant Newsome targeting 2018 season
Harbaugh said Drake Johnson has decided not to return to football
— angelique (@chengelis) April 10, 2017
Harbaugh says Grant Newsome return more like a year off. Shooting for 2018
— angelique (@chengelis) April 10, 2017
Drake looked great when healthy, and he played with determination and heart; injuries, man, injuries.
love the drake
He always gave his all. A shame that a couple of freak incidents cut his opportunity short.
As for Grant...please take the time to heal.
Thank you for everything, Drake.
I understand it. He's had so many injury issues.
It would have killed a lesser man.
If only that forklift had zigged instead of zagged...
So we now have three open schoalrships? Grad transfer OT, Grad transfer DT, Grad Transfer safety
Malzone and Davis too. They at least have room for Aaron Cochran an offensive tackle at Cal or a backup DT.
Is Drake retiring, transferring, or other? Just curious if anyone knows his intentions.
It's pretty clear... He's done with football.
Probably going to finish out whatever coursework he has remaining on a medical scholarship.
His admiration for Wilton's deep passes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEZLENYWyMU
Start at 12:02.
Drake Johnson always seemed like he gave everything and even brought an extra gear beyond that to each game he was in. It's a shame that injuries kept him from being a larger contributor too. Best of luck to him in his endeavors beyond football.
As for Newsome, pretty sure he gets a huge ovation in 2018 then. He should take as much time as he feels appropriate.
He'll always be one of my 'what if's'. As in what if he wouldn't have gotten hurt in the OSU game down in Columbus a few years ago?
I never quite understood the people that thought Newsome would be coming back this season, let alone in a starting capacity. I get being optimistic, but dude had a major knee injury plus complications that kept him in the hospital for a month. Returning at all to the field in 2017 was always a long shot.
because Harbaugh said that they thought he could come back which has proven to be optimistic. Now we have to find a tackle to play at right tackle unless we bump Bredeson out there and look for guards.
Sad. I wanted to see one more run from Drake.
So much potential, but too many injuries. Thanks for all the effort through the years, Drake.
He's been doing pretty well on the Track team this year.
He'll get his degree from Michigan. Wish him the best in the future. Really hoping Grant can come back to 100% if not nearly there.
GO BLUE!
April 10th, 2017 at 10:32 PM ^
and I think it would make him happy to know that many fans are going to remember him as a good football player, but perhaps he'll be remembered mostly for "that extra" LSA mentioned and translated into an indisputable love for the game. More than any other player on our roster, it was easy to recognize no one loved being a wolverine more than this young man. He was a great teammate as well. Enthusiasm is contagious and to be perectly honest, he's the first fb player, at any level I've seen click his heels together in mid-air to celebrate a score. If it brought smiles to our faces, you have to believe his fellow wolverines were lifted by it as well.
I am so happy to hear he's engaged in track. This will keep him busy, hopefully help satisfy his healthy appetite for competition and being a member of the track team will allow him to work as hard as he wants, something else he truly loves.
I was somewhere in S. America during The Game in 2014 - first one i've missed since Vietnam - but am very happy to read he gave an outstanding effort and had some major success against our chief rival. The young man from AA was able to realize what a lot of youngsters in MI grow up dreaming of. Although its somewhat sad to see his fb career come to an end, it seems fitting that the young man who loved it all so much felt that what, at times, seemed like continuous rehab, was more than worth it. You know certain players, Devin Gardner, Dhani Jones, Jim Harbaugh, et. al., no matter their level of success, are always striving to accomplish more. I think Drake will earn the right to be included in such a list.
April 11th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
Is there a chance that Drake will receive some sort of a settlement from the University if he cannot play football anymore?
Harbaugh is generally tight-lipped about injuries, but he has been especially tight-lipped about the Johnson situation, enough so that I've wondered if there is litigation pending. And it would seem that whatever Johnson gets would be significantly more if he was prevented from playing football again.
I'm not insinuating that he is CHOOSING to not play football because of this. But if the doctors were giving him coin-flip advice, like "well you COULD do play but there are risks involved", if opting-out worked in his favor for a pending lawsuit then I honestly wouldn't blame him one bit.
Again, I have NO information, but I just have a hard time believing he got run over by a (negligent?) forklift and there isn't a lawyer involved somewhere.