Sherrone Moore Confirms Star Duo Will Return from Injury for Michigan Defense

Michigan football is getting two of its best players back for Saturday’s game against Washington.

Against Minnesota last week, U-M was without two of its best defenders in cornerback Will Johnson & defensive end Josaiah Stewart.

In his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon, Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore announced both should return in Week 6.

“Josaiah and Will look like they’ll be in good shape for this week,” Moore told the media.

The Wolverines will need their best under the lights at Husky Stadium, their first road game of the season inside a raucous environment.

On one of the country’s most talented defenses, Johnson & Stewart are two of the three best players. Johnson is a consensus top-10 NFL Draft pick, with some projections to land at No. 1 overall. Meanwhile, Stewart was the highest-graded defensive player in the country through four games.

How important are these two? Against USC, they made arguably the biggest impact on the team.

Stewart had a massive day, including two sacks and a ridiculous eight QB pressures.

Josaiah Stewart was the best player on the field all half pic.twitter.com/FdCxLmDNZj

— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) September 21, 2024

In the same game, Johnson made the biggest play of the day with this pick-six:

PICK SIX WILL JOHNSON.
ANN ARBOR IS GOING CRAZY. pic.twitter.com/2U1iVdOGKS

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 21, 2024

Moore continued with additional injury updates coming out of last week’s game. 👇

➡️ NEW: 3 Takeaways from Michigan’s Win Over Minnesota

Additional Michigan Football Injury Updates from Sherrone Moore

Here’s what Moore said about every other player dealing with an injury heading into Week 6 at Washington.

Starting safety Makari Paige

Moore: “Yeah, he’ll be good. I think he’s just working through something, and he’ll be in good shape to go.”

Status: Expected to Play

Starting left tackle Myles Hinton

Moore: “Myles is working through something; he came out of the game, probably could have went back in, but held him out.”

Status: Questionable; Moore said the same thing about Johnson last week, who was held out later that week.

Starting Wide Receiver Semaj Morgan

Moore: “Looks like he’ll be in good shape this week.”

Status: Hopeful to return.

Depth cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows

Moore: “McBurrows will be out.”

Status: Long-term injury, no indication if it’s season-ending

Depth safety Jaden Mangham

Moore: “He’s working through something off the field. He could possibly come back (this week).

Status: Questionable

Depth safety Wesley Walker

Moore: “Walker is working through something, but he’s not long-term.”

Status: Doubtful this week, hopeful to return in coming weeks

➡️ MORE: Michigan RB Makes Short List in Early Heisman Poll

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