{"id":17145,"date":"2020-06-29T05:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/xavier-mckinney-is-more-than-ready-for-this-giants-challenge\/"},"modified":"2020-06-29T05:01:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T02:01:00","slug":"xavier-mckinney-is-more-than-ready-for-this-giants-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/xavier-mckinney-is-more-than-ready-for-this-giants-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"#Xavier McKinney is more than ready for this Giants challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Xavier McKinney is more than ready for this Giants challenge<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Nothing about Xavier McKinney\u2019s first two months in the NFL have been normal.<\/p>\n

From having to watch the virtual draft in his own home to attending the Giants\u2019 offseason training activities by opening up his laptop, the regular indoctrination into the NFL has been thrown out the window.<\/p>\n

But McKinney, the Giants\u2019 second-round pick, has never been one to settle for what\u2019s standard anyways. He has thrived while straying from the norm \u2014 as the free safety who often lined up at strong safety, cornerback, inside linebacker and outside linebacker at Alabama, the college stud who called his high school coaches after game<\/a>s to ask what he could do better, and the creative mind who draws and designs his own tattoos when he stops working on the field.<\/p>\n

It may just be what makes McKinney well prepared to jump right into a starter\u2019s role if and when the season begins in September, despite the unusual circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that separated him was he wanted to be uncomfortable in a room full of other dogs,\u201d said Jermale Ransby, the defensive line coach at Roswell High School in Georgia. \u201cHe wanted to make sure he was the top dog. Just his work ethic, he\u2019s probably the most consistent kid that I\u2019ve seen in that group of all these guys that [went on to] play in college.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the young kids would say, he brought a lot of drip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/hr>\n

Jermaine Phillips had followed the path McKinney wanted to be on \u2014 from Roswell to the SEC to the NFL to a Super Bowl, where Phillips won a ring with the Buccaneers as a rookie in 2002. A former safety himself, Phillips returned to his high school alma mater to coach defensive backs in 2014, when McKinney was a sophomore.<\/p>\n

The staff Phillips joined had already started to learn about McKinney by then. Head coach John Ford had heard about him when he was an eighth grader and took note of him when the middle school team would practice on the field after the varsity. He went to one of their games, saw McKinney play and thought, \u201cHoly cow. This kid\u2019s got some juice to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the young kids would say, he brought a lot of drip.\u201d \u2014 Jermale Ransby, the defensive line coach at Roswell High School in Georgia, on Xavier McKinney <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ransby\u2019s first interaction with McKinney was a disciplinary one. He had gotten an email from an English teacher who had a freshman acting up in class. Ransby told McKinney that if he wanted to play varsity one day, he had to get his act straight. It was the only time they ever had to talk about it.<\/p>\n

But by the time Phillips began coaching, McKinney had made the varsity team as a sophomore. He had the raw talent to play, except there was a senior in front of him getting more of the playing time in a rotation at safety. Roswell was playing its rival, Milton, early in the season when the situation hit a fork in the road.<\/p>\n

\u201c[He] kind of threw a little fit and pouted,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n

McKinney felt he deserved to play. Phillips agreed, but wanted him to understand the flow of the game and told him to be ready when his time was called. After avoiding Phillips for a short time, McKinney came back and told him he would never give him another reason to think that he didn\u2019t deserve to be on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always accepts the challenge,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cHe turned it up another notch.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKinney began his junior year holding offers from Alabama and Clemson, among others, and first committed to Alabama that fall. But he didn\u2019t let it change his drive. He helped Roswell reach the state championship \u2014 and then did it again his senior year, though the Hornets lost in the final both times.<\/p>\n

On a team packed with Division I recruits, McKinney separated himself from the rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just always had a little bit different level of focus than people his same age,\u201d Ford said.<\/p>\n

\"Jermaine<\/img>
Jermaine Phillips, Xavier McKinney and Jermale Ransby on the night McKinney was drafted by the Giants.<\/span>Courtesy of Ebony Merriweather<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McKinney stuck mostly to free safety, but had some freedom to move around. Often, he took it upon himself to figure out who the opponent\u2019s No. 1 weapon was and \u201cerase[d] him,\u201d Ford said. Other times he would be in the box, and even when coaches didn\u2019t call for him to blitz, he would see something and blitz anyways, picking up the sack. When he did stay in his natural position and roam center field, he could strike there, too.<\/p>\n

Whatever he was doing, the way he moved always impressed his coaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe looks like he is in perfect control of his body and moving faster than people that are exerting themselves at 110 percent,\u201d Ford said. \u201cThere\u2019s a fluidity and a smoothness to how he plays the game that is just rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just kind of floated and glided,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cHis body control has been A-1 since Day 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/hr>\n

Though he later decommitted from Alabama, McKinney still eventually ended up in Tuscaloosa \u2014 enrolling early after graduating high school in December.<\/p>\n

McKinney played mostly special teams as a freshman before making the jump to the Crimson Tide\u2019s starting strong safety as a sophomore, replacing 2018 first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick. He immedia<\/a>tely became an impact player, earning Defensive MVP honors in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma before Alabama lost the national championship game.<\/p>\n

As a junior he transitioned to free safety, but his talent and football IQ allowed Nick Saban to move him around as he pleased. He played 393 snaps at safety, 166 at cornerback, 120 at inside linebacker and 113 at outside linebacker, according to ESPN.<\/p>\n

\"IMG-0597<\/img>
Xavier McKinney (left) and Cam Newton at Newton\u2019s 7-on-7 camp in 2014.<\/span>(Courtesy of Ebony Merriweather)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After games, he would talk to Phillips and Ransby \u2014 who had gone from being just coaches to McKinney\u2019s mentors and big brothers \u2014 about what they saw. He didn\u2019t want someone to tell him how good he was, he wanted to know how he could get even better. In the offseason, he would go back to Roswell and work with Ransby on pass-rushing drills, part of his game that he viewed just as important as footwork and Cover-2\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a sponge,\u201d Ransby said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s part of what made McKinney \u2014 the latest in a strong tradition of dynamic safeties to come out of Alabama, including Fitzpatrick, Eddie Jackson, Landon Collins and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix \u2014 one of Saban\u2019s favorites.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he\u2019s smart, because he works hard, because he\u2019s competitive,\u201d Ford said. \u201cYou never have to worry whether Xavier\u2019s going to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/hr>\n

Even McKinney\u2019s doodles are different. He turned them into tattoos, with his own drawings of cartoon characters like the Tasmanian Devil, Minions and Marvin the Martian now inked across his body.<\/p>\n

But the first tattoo McKinney got, back when he was a sophomore at Roswell, still serves as a daily reminder. On one bicep: Humble. On the other: Hungry.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got that because he always wanted to remind himself of where he needs to be, he\u2019s never done enough and he pushes himself to the limit,\u201d Ransby said.<\/p>\n

If a pandemic doesn\u2019t get in the way, McKinney will take that mindset to the field with him this fall, expected to team up with Jabrill Peppers to form the Giants\u2019 new safety tandem. He hasn\u2019t had the benefit of actually practicing in the Giants system with his new teammates just yet, but those close to McKinney have always seen him work to be mentally and physically prepared for whatever challenges come his way. They don\u2019t expect this one to be any different.<\/p>\n

\u201cA kid who always had tremendous talent, but even more than that, he was a student of the game,\u201d said Phillips, who sees an Ed Reed-type potential in McKinney.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the love for the game and the way he app<\/a>roaches it, who knows what can happen. I wouldn\u2019t even say the sky\u2019s the limit \u2014 the sky\u2019s going to be the standard for him. What\u2019s beyond that, who knows?\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

If you want to read more Sports News<\/a> articles, you can visit our General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

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“#Xavier McKinney is more than ready for this Giants challenge” Nothing about Xavier McKinney\u2019s first two months in the NFL have been normal. From having to watch the virtual draft in his own home to attending the Giants\u2019 offseason training activities by opening up his laptop, the regular indoctrination into the NFL has been thrown…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29089],"class_list":["post-17145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-xavier-mckinney-is-more-than-ready-for-this-giants-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}