Colton Hood not shying away from job description with chance to start and fix Giants woeful trend
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va.— Colton Hood read the fine print in his job description.
Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.Not only is a cornerback in a John Harbaugh-coached and Dennard Wilson-coordinated Giants defense supposed to play press man-to-man coverage and aggressively jump routes, but there is no room to shy away from tackles against the run.
The second-round rookie has lowered his shoulder and wrapped his arms during training camp.“I’m a physical guy,” Hood said after Friday’s practice.“I was excited to get the pads on for the first time [earlier this week] in a really long time.
As a corner, that’s a part of the job description.I don’t think it’s something you have to prove.
If you don’t want to tackle, you don’t want to compete.That’s a part of the game.”Not all cornerbacks are quite as eager to stand in a running back’s way as they are to set up their own island.The Giants have an ugly history with highly drafted cornerbacks, including first-round underachievers Eli Apple, DeAndre Baker and Deonte Banks.
The previous coaching staff was fooled by former sixth-round rookie Tre Hawkins’ standout training camp, which sidetracked returning No.1 cornerback Adoree’ Jackson’s career.How does Hood set his own path forward?“It’s just coming in and learning every day,” Hood said.
“Getting used to different splits from the NFL field.The mental part of the game, because I have the physical tools.”There appears to be little separation between the Giants’ top four cornerbacks during training camp, though Hood mostly has worked with the second-teamers while adjusting to NFL speed and play calls.Paulson Adebo, Greg Newsome and Banks on his last chance are mixing and matching.
Cornerback is one spot on the depth chart that could look very different by midseason than it does Week 1 — even without injuries — because “they’re all super ag...