Oklahoma Sooners Football | Who Is Will Johnson?

Losing a football game that you have no business losing often causes a bit of soul searching which, in turn, can often result in a roster move here or there. That was certainly the case for the Sooners on Saturday who took the field in Manhattan, Kansas (a week removed from their embarrassing loss to Texas) with a few new faces on each side of the ball.

One of those new guys was #12 Will Johnson who replaced Hatari Byrd at nickel back. Johnson had seen limited action this season, appearing in games against West Virginia, Tulsa, and Tennessee, but it wasn't until Saturday that he played a significant enough role to have an impact on the game. Johnson recorded just two tackles (one for loss) and a pass breakup in the game against Kansas State but it was enough to win over a lot of praise from both teammates and coaches.

Part of the influx of JUCO transfers in the 2015 recruiting class, Johnson sort of came in under the radar despite being ranked as the #2 JUCO cornerback by ESPN. A product of New Rochelle, N.Y., he played junior college ball at Monroe Community College, in Rochester, where he would ultimately become a 4-star recruit by ESPN and 3-star by 247Sports.

At 6-0/182, he's a natural corner, but apparently he isn't bad at the nickel either. Who is Will Johnson? He may just be the key to Oklahoma's defense going toe-to-toe with the Big 12's spread offensive attacks. You know, like the one's the Sooners will see Saturday against Texas Tech.