Ex-RB Drake Johnson to stay at UM to run track

Ann Arbor — Drake Johnson will participate in track and will not play football for Michigan this fall.

Johnson, who endured two ACL injuries during his football career and was involved in a freak accident in the track building when he was run over by a forklift, was awarded a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who had said in April that Johnson was no longer going to play football, said Johnson will be on campus this fall.

“Drake Johnson is going to continue at Michigan,” Harbaugh said Monday afternoon following a skills “competition” among some of his players and the A.S. Roma soccer team in town for a game Wednesday in Detroit. “He’s going to take classes this fall. The latest is he’s not going to participate in football. He’s going to concentrate on track. He’ll be here for another year.”

Harbaugh also addressed freshman defensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher, who retired this month from football because of lingering issues from an Achilles tear suffered two years ago.

“It was something that Corey in conjunction with the doctors and the trainers decided was in his best interest and the right and fair path for him to take,” Harbaugh said. “I support it from the standpoint of being very supportive of what Corey and the doctors thought was the best.

“He’s still in school. It’s a disappointment for his family, for him, for us coaches, for everybody concerned. In terms of football there were high hopes there. As he said, I thought he said it very well, he can still get a great education, he can still be a great Michigan man. He’ll be able to participate as a student intern if he so chooses. There’s other ways he can contribute.”

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