Johnson Starting Safety, For Now
Position coach, Dave Merritt had high praise for rookie safety and first round Giants draft pick Kenny Phillips in Newsday, but isn’t yet ready to declare him the starter.
“This kid, in the classroom, has shown unbelievable recall for the defense,” Merritt said. “We put in things back early in the (rookie) minicamp and he’s able to recall it here it is a week or two later. I’m very excited about that.
“As far as his God-given ability mentally, this kid is very good.”
Merritt said he still needs work on routes and his angles, but overall he looked great.
James Butler is the starting strong safety and Michael Johnson is the starter at free safety for now, said Merritt but that could change as they learn playing their positions at the NFL level.
