QB commit still welcome at Michigan after medical retirement


JD Johnson, a three-star quarterback recruit committed to Michigan, said on social media Wednesday that he must give up football due to a heart issue, but that coach Jim Harbaugh is still offering a scholarship.

Johnson, from Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, wrote that he has a birth defect and was diagnosed with a “coarctation of my aorta” when he was 12.

He revealed that recent tests and evaluations showed that additional surgery could not correct some heart issues and that he “did not meet the clearance standard to continue playing a contact sport for fear that my aorta could rupture, or that not enough blood would get to my brain causing an on-field stroke.”

He said Harbaugh called and “without hesitation” vowed to honor the scholarship, offering a chance for Johnson to help the coaching staff as a student assistant.

“He demonstrated a high level of loyalty to a player that will never throw a TD pass for him,” Johnson said. “Coach Harbaugh, I promise I will make the opportunity you have given me count!”

Johnson was rated as the 384th-best prospect in the country and the 16th-best pro-style quarterback in the 2020 class, according to the 247sports composite.