It's too early to say yet, but I have some optimism towards their future.
Watching plenty of Johnson's 'tape' on YouTube, he's extremely athletic. It shows up even if you are playing at a small school against smaller competition. It's just there. His closing speed is quite incredible. But, he also has shown coverage ability and range as well. I think where good small college players tend to struggle is with injuries since the game is so different in the pros and you can play an entire season badly banged up. It's more of a mental thing than anything else.
I suspect that Johnson really didn't get much experience last year and this is basically his rookie year. He'll probably be primarily a special teams guy and hopefully they will slowly integrate him into some dime packages this year. I think he's probably more of a Rob Ryan style of safety (think TJ Ward) than a Kiffin style of safety. I think down the road he has to compete with Church at the SS spot.
I wasn't into Wilcox when we drafted him. I didn't see anything really special outside of the fact that he looked comfortable at safety which was rare for a guy who has played so many different positions, particularly on offense. So it's good to hear how well he has played so far.
He's a Kiffin pick and Kiffin is one of the best at finding safeties to play his system. I think he's another special teams guy that may get integrated into dime and nickel packages sooner. We may also use him as a returner, too. The big thing is if he can stay healthy, improve as the season goes along and then be in prime position to make a run at the starting job next season.
YR
