Sam Beal
Evan Pinkus/AP Photo

The college coach of New York Giants cornerback Sam Beal has high hopes for the young defensive back heading into 2019.

New York Giants cornerback Sam Beal is heading into his second year in the NFL. However, it’s essentially his first real season. Beal had season-ending shoulder surgery last summer, forcing his entire rookie year to be a “lost season.” The former Western Michigan University defensive back was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Supplementary Draft.

However, Beal is now healthy and doing what he can to make a name for himself on this roster. Now that organized team activities and minicamp have concluded, Beal is looking forward to impressing coaches in training camp. Per SNY’s Scott Thompson, Beal’s former WMU defensive coordinator Lou Esposito believes he has a ton of success ahead of him.

“I think the biggest thing is when we first got here [it] was his athleticism,” Esposito said. “Being so long and so big. Normally you see these long, rangy guys and they’re not fast. Sam was a phenomenal athlete and he was able to do all the things you wanted to do. He could cover, he could run with their best receivers, he can make tackles, and we knew we had something special when we got here.”

Esposito also explained how Beal wants to set the bar high for himself, even though it’s still very early in his career.

“He just wants to be great,” Esposito said. “If being great is being in the weight room two extra hours, that’s what he’s going to do. If being great on the football field is spending more time in the film room, that’s what he’s going to do.”

Beal finds himself in one of the Giants’ bigger position battles this offseason. Janoris Jenkins will retain his spot as the starting strong-side corner. However, the opposite side will have a competition between Beal and rookies DeAndre Baker and Julian Love.

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Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.