{"id":4278,"date":"2026-01-09T14:49:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/09\/morez-johnson-jr-and-the-michigan-football-legend-in-his-corner\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T14:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:49:07","slug":"morez-johnson-jr-and-the-michigan-football-legend-in-his-corner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/09\/morez-johnson-jr-and-the-michigan-football-legend-in-his-corner\/","title":{"rendered":"Morez Johnson Jr. and the Michigan football legend in his corner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Tai Streets admits that Morez Johnson Jr. caught more bass than him the last time they went fishing. And he\u2019s been around his former pupil long enough to know that he was going to catch major flak for it. He always does. For that reason, the excuses started to fly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe caught more but that\u2019s because he had real rods, I had to get mine from Meijer,\u201d Streets, a form er star wide receiver for the Michigan football team, told The Michigan Daily. \u201cI\u2019m gonna get him back, though.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fishing trip was over the summer in Ann Arbor with some of Johnson\u2019s new teammates on the No. 2 Michigan basketball team, at one of the nearby golf courses. Which course, exactly, wasn\u2019t information to be shared. Graduate forward Will Tschetter has himself a spot he\u2019d like to keep hidden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to give up our secret location, Tschetter would get mad at me,\u201d Johnson told The Daily. \u201cWhen I asked him to take my picture (with a fish) he said, \u2018I\u2019m gonna edit the background so nobody knows (where we are).\u2019 \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Regardless of where exactly in Ann Arbor, that covert watering hole is roughly a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Ill.,\u00a0 just south of Chicago. It\u2019s the school Streets once graduated from on his way to a career in the NFL \u2014 and the place he now coaches his own young athletes with similar professional dreams.<\/p>\n<p>One of those athletes was Johnson, the now-starting forward for the Wolverines in the midst of a breakout season. Johnson was coached by Streets two times, during his senior season at Thornton and his 17U AAU season with MeanStreets, the prestigious Chicago-area basketball program Streets founded back in 2001 that has developed the likes of Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis and Patrick Beverly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Streets made a living playing football, but he\u2019s made a lasting impact on his hometown through his years of coaching basketball. And before he did either, he attended the University of Michigan, where Johnson is now once again following in his footsteps.<\/p>\n<p>Both athletes are Chicago born, attended the same high school and college, and possess an eerily similar competitive spirit that drives their lives forward. It\u2019s no wonder they\u2019ve become such good friends, they have so much in common.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>After the Michigan football team\u2019s loss to Ohio State in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/michigan-undone-by-ohio-state-offense-drops-the-game-for-the-first-time-in-four-years-27-9\/\">November<\/a>, Streets took Johnson out to eat at the Ruth\u2019s Chris Steak House in Ann Arbor. Streets makes it a priority to check in on his former athletes. He checks in on Johnson more often than most.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Streets had just left the snowy football contest. Johnson had elected to stay home from the game rather than brave the elements, and met his former coach at the restaurant instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s soft,\u201d Streets said. \u201cToo cold for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a joke, of course. An attempt at a one-up. Talk to either of them about the other long enough and you\u2019ll find how common that kind of playful competition is between them. That their relationship is built on it, even.<\/p>\n<p>At the steakhouse the pair discussed, among many things, Michigan\u2019s first loss in five years to the Buckeyes, and what each thought were the main contributing factors to the collapse. After all, Streets knows a thing or two about beating Ohio State, having done it three times himself as a wide receiver for the Wolverines.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Streets played four seasons at wide receiver for Michigan, most notably catching two 50-yard plus touchdowns from Brian Griese in the 1997 Rose Bowl win over Washington State that captured a share of the National Championship. His senior season, Streets\u2019 906 yards and 11 touchdowns were enough to earn him Team MVP, an award that was given to Charles Woodson the season before, and Tom Brady the season after.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After graduating Streets went on to play six seasons in the NFL. He credits his time spent with the Wolverines for getting him there. In fact, he credits the University of Michigan and its athletic staff for a lot more than just that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s where I learned how to become an adult, how to become a man,\u201d Streets said. \u201c(Wide receivers) coach (Erik) Campbell and coach (Lloyd Carr), taught me so much about becoming a man\u2026 the mental side of it, the work you have to put in to be successful, that\u2019s all the University of Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The roots Streets planted as a student athlete at Michigan are one of two large reasons he frequently makes the drive from Chicago to visit so often. Johnson is the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMorez, I kind of just have a bond with him,\u201d Streets said. \u201cI like the way he plays, his toughness, he loves to compete, and I love kids like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>In some ways, that\u2019s because he is a kid like that. Streets, now 48 years young, still has enough competitiveness coursing through him to remind his athletes once in a while that they\u2019d have nothing on him in his heyday. Johnson recalls Streets once jumping into a practice scrimmage he was running during Johnson\u2019s senior year and hooping like his life depended on it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was modeling his game after (Nikola) Jokic out there, it was actually pretty good,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe won (though).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t unusual for Streets to hop into a practice, up until last year, when he went a little too hard and tore a quad muscle out on the court. He went down, but not until he absolutely had to.<\/p>\n<p>According to Johnson, that level of competitiveness is synonymous with the Chicago area. It\u2019s where it was embedded in him and his coach alike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCoach Streets got that (super competitiveness) in him a lot,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHe helped mold my game, my competitiveness, the motor, playing hard, not liking to be scored on.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-5    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>That\u2019s high praise from a guy Michigan coach Dusty May refers to as his <a href=\"https:\/\/otter.ai\/u\/mymitoS3PmUN_Fmz5Bcb6QgU_dc?q=junkyard&amp;i=0&amp;view=transcript&amp;tab=chat\">\u2018junkyard dog.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Johnson \u2014 much like Streets \u2014 is an incredibly physical athlete, who is currently filling the Wolverines\u2019 need for such a high-intensity player on both ends of the court. Averaging 14 points and seven rebounds a game, Johnson\u2019s been able to elevate his game in May\u2019s big-man-friendly system in his sophomore season. Streets, of course, knew this would happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Michigan) is going to be great for him,\u201d Streets said before the 2025-26 basketball season began. \u201cDusty gives the bigs the ability to score \u2026 not just rebounding, blocking shots and running the court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Streets has always been a strong advocate for his alma mater, but he doesn\u2019t like to push his players in any direction they don\u2019t choose themselves. Still, when Johnson fell into his hands at MeanStreets after already verbally committing to Illinois, Streets couldn\u2019t just stand idly by and not say anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he?\u201d Johnson said sarcastically when asked if Streets ever brought up Michigan to him in high school. \u201cHe talked about it so much, but I was on the other end, trash talking him back. He\u2019d say his school is the best school and I would say my school the best school.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-6    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>After a promising freshman campaign in Champaign, Johnson began exploring his options in the transfer portal. There were many, but it didn\u2019t take long for the ball to get rolling with Michigan. And quickly, before he could even tell his old coach, Johnson made his new commitment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomebody told me (he committed) and I was like \u2018No way!\u2019 \u201d Streets said. \u201cThen he called me and told me, and I said, \u2018You lying.\u2019 I was happy, ecstatic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course he was. One of his favorite athletes was now attending his favorite university. That\u2019s all it took for any school-related trash talk to cease at the drop of a hat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said to me, \u2018You really going there?\u2019 I\u2019m like \u2018Yeah, man,\u2019 and he said \u2018Now you\u2019re going to a real university,\u2019 \u201c Johnson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>Michigan basketball\u2019s first contest of the 2025-26 season was a home exhibition against Cincinnati on Oct. 17. Johnson was ruled out for minor injuries. Tai Streets went anyway.<\/p>\n<p>It was a monotonous slog of a game, the pace grinding to a halt to the tune of 83 total free throw attempts, and the Wolverines eventually lost, 100-98. The offense was there all night for the Wolverines, but something was definitely missing on defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Streets, an avid lover and contributor to the game of basketball, had an answer as to why. Not surprisingly, that answer involved Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCincinnati kind of beat them up on the inside, that\u2019s what they\u2019re missing right now (with Johnson and junior center Aday Mara out),\u201d Streets said. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be a good feeling when those two guys come back, and that team is gonna be special at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After losing to the Bearcats, Michigan won its remaining exhibition game and are now off to a 14-0 start in the regular season. The Wolverines are currently ranked as the second-best team in the nation and have beat seven of their opponents by 40 points or more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At the center of Michigan\u2019s historic season has been Johnson \u2014 just as Streets predicted. Johnson is the team\u2019s second leading scorer, third leading rebounder and plays a crucial role in the best interior defense in the country, per <a href=\"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/team.php?team=Michigan\">Kenpom<\/a>. Through 14 games, the Wolverines\u2019 opponents are shooting just 38.7% from inside, and Johnson\u2019s relentless presence remains a primary cause of that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much time do we have?\u201d May said Dec. 6 when asked to talk about Johnson\u2019s contributions to his team. \u201cI could go (for hours) talking about that guy, we really appreciate him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson is more than settled in Ann Arbor now as a major component on a championship-caliber team. It sounds familiar. As Michigan continues to navigate a season with now-extremely high standards, it would no doubt help to have a guy who\u2019s been through it by your side \u2014 a guy like Streets.<\/p>\n<p>Streets surpassed expectations both inside and outside his own athletic career, both thanks in large part to the time he spent in Ann Arbor. Johnson has now set out on his own journey to do the same. It\u2019s not a question that as he navigates it, he\u2019ll have a veteran, mentor and friend in his corner.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tai Streets admits that Morez Johnson Jr. caught more bass than him the last time they went fishing. And he\u2019s been around his former pupil long enough to know that he was going to catch major flak for it. He always does. For that reason, the excuses started to fly. \u201cHe caught more but that\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1440,223,748,2394,222,3518],"class_list":{"0":"post-4278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-corner","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-johnson","11":"tag-legend","12":"tag-michigan","13":"tag-morez"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4278"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4280,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4278\/revisions\/4280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}