Walled Lake Western’s gymnasium is rarely filled on school days in the afternoon unless there is a pep rally or an assembly, but neither of those was happening and much of the student body had filed in to watch junior quarterback Sam Johnson throw in front of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
To rewind, Johnson had been receiving college offers since he was in eighth grade. He played his first two seasons at Southfield before transferring to Western for his junior year, and somewhere in that transition, recruiting had slowed down for him. It picked back up this winter as schools like Boston College (specifically former Michigan assistant Scot Loeffler) watched him throw and offered scholarships, but this was the chance to earn a Michigan offer.