When College Football Meets the Tour de France

White Jersey, Best Young Rider (Maillot Blanc)

In the Tour de France, the white jersey is given to the best-placed overall “young rider,” 25 years old or under. This is on par with a college football player who enters a new season as a true Freshman or Sophomore.

There were several impressive performances in 2022 on the part of true Freshmen. This selection came down to two outstanding players in Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson.

However, after careful consideration, we will award the White Jersey honor to Johnson because of his play at a premium position for a team that many outlets have in their top 5 preseason rankings. Like the yellow jersey, the holder of the white jersey reflects the individual and the team.

As a true freshman, Johnson was the fourth-highest-graded cornerback in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus. He graded ahead of some notable 2022 NFL Draft selections like Emmanuel Forbes, Clark Phillips II, and his Wolverine teammate, DJ Turner, to name a few.

The young Michigan corner is excellent in man-to-man coverage. He plays on the boundary while displaying the versatility to play in the slot. He is also a very physical defender and loves making hard hits.

Furthermore, the Wolverine defensive back can make plays in the backfield as a blitzer. While we are accustomed to seeing from slot corners, Johnson is effective in this area from the outside.

Johnson landed on Athlon Sports’ Third-team All-American list. While this is impressive coming from a true Freshman, it may also undervalue the young corner.

The winner of the white jersey in the Tour de France is often seen as the next big thing in road racing. Sometimes this is the case, whereas, in other instances, we are left wondering what happened. Johnson is well on the track of the former rather than the latter.

Johnson is next up in a long lineage of excellent Wolverine defensive backs. Football fans are lucky to be able to watch such a great player for at least two more years at Michigan. That is unless he is playing against your favorite team. That is indeed less fun.