By Robert Fulton

Pflag Correspondent

The 2007 NFL rookie draft was headlined by the likes of Calvin Johnson, who has emerged as one of the best wide receivers in the league playing for the Detroit Lions; and quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who famously fell on his face as an Oakland Raider, was arrested earlier this summer for possession of codeine syrup without a prescription, and is currently unemployed.

But look past those first two picks. Look way past those first two picks, all the way down to the seventh and final round, all the way to pick No. 224. That’s where you’ll find the named Michael Johnson, selected by the New York Giants.

Pflugerville High School’s very own Michael Johnson.

How does a person go from being the 224th pick in the NFL to a Super Bowl winning safety for the New York Giants?

Simple, hard work.

“You’re fighting for a spot, trying to get a lot of reps,” said Johnson, 26, during a phone interview before practice at the Giants training camp at the University of Albany. “You do things the right way. You have to be ready.”

And ready Johnson was, coming out of the University of Arizona. He played in all 16 regular season games for the Giants in 2007, starting five; and played in all four post season contests. That first season culminated in February of 2008 with a 17-14 Super Bowl XLII victory over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.

Yep, after just one year in The League, Johnson had a Super Bowl ring. And had earned it.

“It was a dream come true,” Johnson said. “It was one dream after another. You didn’t know how to feel about it.”

Johnson graduated from Pflugerville High in 2002, and attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, excelling for two years before transferring to the University of Arizona and then being drafted by the Giants.

Looking again at the Giants’ draft class of 2007, one recognizes that the organization set itself up for years to come without the flash of a Russell or Calvin Johnson. Michael Johnson isn’t even the team’s biggest steal. That would have to be Ahmad Bradshaw, taken 26 picks after Johnson, and now vying for the starting running back job and expected to have a huge 2010. Other picks made by the Giants in 2007 include play makers such as receiver Steve Smith and tightend Kevin Boss.

Johnson says the group of 2007 is close both on and off the field.

“We have a unique relationship,” he said of a bunch of young men that was drafted together, contributed their rookie season, and all won a Super Bowl title together. “It’s taking pride and being productive on the field.”

After that championship-winning rookie campaign, Johnson finished second on the team with 77 tackles and two interceptions in 2008. In 2009, he battled a groin injury but still finished with 59 tackles.

So far in training camp, the injury bug lurks once again, as back spasms kept Johnson out of practice last Thursday and was likely to keep him from playing in a preseason game against the Jets on Monday.

“It’s feeling better with treatment,” said Johnson, who lives in Austin in the offseason and makes his way to Pflugerville on occasion. “It’s a lot of steps to let my back loosened up.”

Entering the 2010 season, Johnson is looking for a big year. The Giants have a new defensive coordinator in former Bills coordinator and interim head coach Perry Fewell, of whose schemes Johnson says “It’s a good system.”

Success this season is simple to Johnson – he’ll define it by the number of wins the Giants earn (they went 8-8 last year). And as a player entering his fourth season – and with a Super Bowl ring – Johnson knows those wins can start on his side of the ball.

“As a defense, we had communication problems and didn’t play as well as we could have,” Johnson said of last season. “With all the talent we have, it was inexcusable.”