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saiah Johnson loves making big hits. To him, tackling is “the purest form of football.”

In his first start for Syracuse, he sought contact immediately. When Clemson’s Joseph Ngata caught a pass on a post route, Johnson looped around his backside. After Ngata slipped a few tackles, Johnson lifted the 6-foot-3, 215-lb receiver off his feet and slammed him to the ground.

Minutes earlier, Johnson combined with Caleb Okechukwu to stick running back Will Shipley short of the first down marker and bring up third down. Johnson thrusted his shoulder into the running back’s stomach to halt his progress. After two brutal open-field tackles, Clemson stopped running the ball his way.

“I like to say I’m a pure football player at the end of the day,” Johnson said. “(It’s) about being more physical, making sure I set the tone every time I get a chance to hit a person with the ball, making sure he feels that.”

Johnson finished with season-highs in solo tackles (six) and total tackles (nine) in the six-point loss to No. 5 Clemson. He only started that game because Garrett Williams went down the previous weekend. On Saturday, Johnson faces the Tigers again. But now, he’s Syracuse’s No. 1 cornerback.

Tackling has always been Johnson’s first priority. It’s a skill cornerbacks often take for granted, and Johnson said excelling as a tackler is a source of pride for him. Through four games in 2023, he has the 15th-best tackling grade in the nation for a cornerback (85.9), according to Pro Football Focus.

When Johnson was young, he and his siblings ran 1-on-1 tackling drills in their backyard in Beverly Hills, Michigan. Being the youngest of seven children, Faith Banks, his girlfriend and childhood friend, said they competed over everything. To be the best, he needed to be complete. That meant putting extra emphasis on tackling.

“Usually, your corners aren’t the most physical guys, but he definitely brought the linebacker/safety type mentality when he did tackle,” said Dan MacLean, Johnson’s high school coach at Detroit Country Day.

Johnson transferred to Detroit Country Day for his sophomore year. He had to sit out for the whole season because of a rule banning transfers from playing right away, MacLean said. As a self-described “late bloomer” who was trying to get recruited, sitting on the sidelines was hard for him.

Johnson used the time away from action to perfect his craft and improve his body. He practiced incessantly until he was allowed back on the field as a junior. Once he did, the impact was immediate. Johnson said Detroit Country Day is where he found his style.

“(Tackling) was always something he was fundamentally sound at, and he just kind of added more aggressiveness to it,” MacLean said. “He just comes in and not just lowers the boom, but there’s no question the (opponent’s) not going any further.”

Johnson wasn’t rated by 247Sports while being recruited, but he was determined to play at the Division I level. He ended up at Dartmouth.

With the Big Green, Johnson said he learned how to slow the game down. Having exhausted the fundamentals of the position, he turned to the tape. He’d do extra, voluntary film sessions with former secondary coach Sammy McCorkle.

Before each game, he’d pour over clips and try to recognize tendencies that could make the offense vulnerable. Johnson also leaned heavily on the older players when he first arrived, peppering them with questions.

He always had the skill and physicality of an elite tackler, but with anticipation, he became a corner that opposing teams had to locate on every play, McCorkle said.

“I feel like Dartmouth really taught me how to watch the game and learn and build my football IQ,” Johnson said. “Once I got done with Dartmouth, I felt like I had learned everything I could learn there. I still had a little more growth to go before I try to chase my dreams of going to the NFL.”

Johnson was the 29th-ranked cornerback in the 2022 transfer portal, according to 247Sports. His goal was to land somewhere that develops NFL talent. Johnson said former Syracuse cornerbacks coach Chip West was a big factor in his decision. West helped Johnson unlock his untapped physicality.

Current SU cornerbacks coach Travis Fisher is a nine-year NFL veteran, so Johnson said he’s been absorbing everything he has to offer about being a professional.

Williams, who Johnson replaced last season, was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. His injury gave Johnson a starting role last season, and his departure opened up space at the top of the depth chart.

Johnson has wanted to play in the NFL since he was 5 years old, Banks said, when he drew a picture of his life’s goal for a school project. Now, as a redshirt senior, Johnson could realize his dream by next April. Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said that his ability to tackle could help him get to the league. More importantly, it could help him stay there.

“If you’re a cover corner who has the ability to tackle, that could extend your career,” Babers said. “Anybody that’s 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 that starts at corner, when they lose a step in the NFL, they have a tendency to move them to safety if they have the ability to tackle. So (Johnson) having that ability and avoiding injuries will give him an elongated career.”

Photo by Aidan Groeling | Contributing Photographer

Published on September 27, 2023 at 10:37 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu