Michael Johnson (born May 9, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft and was also a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

College career

Johnson played in 21 games with 14 starts at Arizona after transferring from Tyler Junior College. Was credited with 107 tackles (75 solo) and had 5 interceptions, 5.5 tackles for losses, a forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries. In 2006, started all 10 games in which he played at strong safety, he earned All-Pac-10 2nd-team honors and finished 5th on the team with 47 tackles (35 solo), including 1 stop for a 7-yard loss. He caused and recovered 1 fumble, deflected 4 passes and intercepted another.

Professional career

New York Giants

He was a seventh round (224th pick overall) draft choice by the Giants in 2007, and wore jersey number 43. Johnson joined Aaron Ross, Steve Smith, Jay Alford, Zak DeOssie, Kevin Boss,

Adam Koets Adam Koets (; born January 7, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football offensive tackle. He was selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Oregon State Beavers foot ...

, and Ahmad Bradshaw as 2007 Giants draft choices who contributed in their rookie season for the Giants Super Bowl XLII win. In the NFC Championship that season against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, Johnson made a critically important play late in the 4th quarter: Fellow Giant R. W. McQuarters fumbled a punt return, and as Packer Jarrett Bush wrapped his hands around the ball to recover it, Johnson dove in and punched the ball out of Bush's hands. The fumble was eventually recovered by fellow Giant Domenik Hixon, and they went on to win the game in overtime. In 2008, Johnson switched to number 20. Originally sought to be a temporary holder of the free safety position until first rounder Kenny Phillips was ready, Johnson held on to a starting spot all season, playing games at both free safety and strong safety. He finishing the regular season second on the team with 88 total tackles and two interceptions. He became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

following the 2010 season, picked up by the

Detroit Lions

On August 10, 2011, Johnson signed with the

. He was released on August 29, 2011.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Born in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, Johnson attended Pflugerville High School. He is the younger brother of former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Reggie Brown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Michael 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Austin, Texas American football safeties Arizona Wildcats football players New York Giants players Detroit Lions players Tyler Apaches football players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen