John Harbaugh believes that changing the math by just one player can “light a fire” in a position room.
So, the Giants volunteered Colton Hood.
In the encore to a night that saw the Giants draft linebacker Arvell Reese and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa in the top 10, the team selected the Tennessee cornerback at No. 37. Hood, 6-foot and 195 pounds, was a semifinalist for the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top defensive back.
“[Hood is] competing to start,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what he’s going to do. We got a got a cornerback room now. It’s amazing how one addition changes the math in a room. Cornerback room is good, but now it’s really good. He’s going to push everybody, and he’ll be — I know one thing, he’s planning on coming in here and trying to win a starting job.”
Hood started 12 games in his lone season with the Vols and totaled 50 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery for a touchdown, and one interception for a touchdown. He committed to Tennessee last May after transferring from Colorado.
Hood, who was ranked No. 21 in Daniel Jeremiah’s top 150 list, joins a cornerback room that includes returnees Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks, Dru Phillips, Art Green, Nic Jones, Rico Payton, Korie Black, and Jarrick Bernard-Converse.
In free agency, the Giants added Greg Newsome II, a former first-round pick entering his seventh NFL season, and parted ways with Cor’Dale Flott, a 37-game starter who signed with the Titans.
“I don’t really care what the perception was (about our cornerback room) a year ago or two years ago,” said Harbaugh, who got the veterans on the field for three days this week at minicamp. “I’m looking at what I see now. I see a good room. But I want a great room. I want a dominant room. I want a bunch of pitbulls out there flying around making plays on the football, and Colton Hood gives us another guy in there to do that and compete and push everybody.”
Colton won’t be the first Hood to play under Harbaugh.
His uncle, Roderick Hood, played cornerback for nearly a decade in the NFL in the 2000s. It included four years with the Eagles while Harbaugh was their special teams coordinator.
“I know the type of family this young man comes from, and the type person he is,” Harbaugh said. “I know the kind of athlete he is. This is a corner with traits and ball skills. Traits and ball skills at corner. Plus he’s a high-character guy. So he’s going to light a fire in that room. You better be ready. You better be ready to compete.”
Colton understands the assignment.
“My uncle always told me how good of a person (Harbaugh) was but also how hard of a coach he was and how good of a coach he was,” Colton Hood said. “Definitely somebody I want to be coached by and somebody I want to play for.”
