The New York Giants continued their free agent shopping spree on Thursday, agreeing to terms with defensive lineman Austin Johnson, a former second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans.
Here are three quick things Giants fans should know about Johnson.
Has previous ties to some Giants staff
Before becoming a second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in the 2016 NFL Draft, Johnson his college football at Penn State. And briefly during that span, his position coach was Sean Spencer — the same Sean Spencer whom the Giants hired to become their next defensive line coach.
“A.J. is a true student of the game with a really high level of intelligence football-wise,” Spencer said at the time Johnson was drafted. “He is a freak athlete. The combination of being 6-4, 315 pounds, moves like a cat with tremendous power at the point of attack and an unbelievable ability to make moves in short quarters makes me believe that his next step is going to be tremendous. He is going to be a great pro.”
Lost his home in Tennessee tornadoes
When violent storm and tornadoes ravaged the Tennessee area earlier this year, Johnson and his family were not home by the grace of God. However, their home was damaged beyond repair.
“He was one of the first guys we reached out to,” Ben Jones, a then-Titans teammate, said of Johnson. “Knowing his wife and our wives are close and we know that’s rough. I’m just happy he’s safe; they weren’t at home at the time, so that was great news. But I know we’ve offered him places to stay, showed him places he can rent, but we just want to be there for him because I know it’s tough.
“When you come home and don’t have a place to go and all your valuables are in there, we wanted to make sure we’ve got something on his roof so he didn’t lose his valuables that were in there.”
New Jersey native
Spencer is a New Jersey native, having been born and raised in Galloway Township. He attended St. Augustine Preparatory School where he was a two-sport star, also excelling in basketball.
