It was a long time in the making, but Will Johnson and Walter Nolen III are finally teammates.
On May 8, Johnson sat down for his introductory press conference since joining the Arizona Cardinals. One reporter brought up how Nolen reached out to Johnson after the latter got drafted in the second round.
“Yeah, it was cool. Because me and Walter, when we were getting recruited out of high school, we both tried to play together,” said Johnson.
Johnson explained how he and his fellow Cardinals rookie first connected. One of Will’s teammates in Michigan was originally from Walter’s home of Memphis, Tennessee. “Walter, obviously, was a big name coming out of high school, and we were trying to get him at Michigan. And I was kind of the front runner for our class. So, I was just trying to do whatever I could to get him to come to Michigan.”
“He was thinking about coming to Detroit to go to high school, so I went down there with him, just to get him acclimated to that type of scene,” explained Johnson. “He visited Michigan a bunch of times, and we hung out. So, we know each other well. We just didn’t go to college together.
Walter Nolen III played football in a handful of high school programs in Mississippi and Tennessee, while Johnson attended school in Detroit.
247Sports rated both players as five-star recruits before they went to their respective schools: Nolen III to Texas A&M before transferring to Ole Miss in 2024. Johnson attended the University of Michigan, playing with the team on their 2023 championship run.
After his Junior season, Johnson declared himself for the 2025 NFL Draft. Nolen did the same after wrapping up his Junior season. And the two ended up on the same squad after the Arizona Cardinals drafted Nolen III with their No. 16 pick, before snatching Johnson at No. 47.
Johnson was excited to talk with Nolen III now that they were both part of the NFL. “It was like, ‘hey, we’re finally teammates. Let’s go do it. Let’s go win a lot of games and win some championships,” he told reporters.
Elsewhere in the press conference, Johnson explained why he selected 0 as his jersey number. “I wanted to keep it a single digit. That’s all I’m gonna say now.”
He also said his knee was “all good.” Johnson was once projected as a Top 15 draft pick, but slid to the second round, likely due to concerns over a past injury affecting his play.