The Giants announced the signing of 12 free agents today. All of the new players participated in the rookie minicamp last weekend.
They signed: CB Kory Blackwell (Massachusetts), FB Matt Calhoun (Ohio State), C Derek Engler (Wisconsin), DE Harold Gragg (Wake Forest), K/P Brion Hurley (Iowa), S James Johnson (Nevada), RB Eric Lane (Tennessee), S Typail McMullen (Middle Tennessee), T Dave Rilatt (Maine), WR Brian Roberson (Fresno State), WR John Washington (TCU) and DB Marc Williams (Oregon State).
The Giants added some punch to their offense early in the draft and then helped out the defense, special teams. They also picked up a QB.
All in all, the Giants were pleased with their 1997 draft and most experts agree that the club did a good job with its selections even though the team's first-round pick was somewhat of a surprise.
Here's a rundown of the Giants' 1997 draft:
The Giants selected him because of what they call "fluid" speed. He has shown the ability to adjust his routes to balls thrown off target. With the wind often a factor at Giants Stadium, the Giants felt that this was a big plus in Hilliard's favor. Although he's not as fast as Miami's Yatil Green or Colorado's Rae Carruth, he's still has fine speed. He has run the 40 under 4.5 seconds.
Hilliard was Danny Wuerffel's go-to guy at Florida, and the Giants are hoping that he becomes Dave Brown's go-to guy. As a senior, Hilliard caught 47 passes for 900 yards and 10 TDs, plus he caught seven passes for 150 yards and three TDs in the Sugar Bowl against Florida State for the national championship.
As a junior, Hilliard caught 57 passes for 1,008 yards and 15 TDs, plus he caught six passes for 100 yards and one TD in the Fiesta Bowl.
For his career (including bowl games), Hilliard caught 142 passes for 2,583 yards and 34 TDs. His average yardage per game was 71.75.
Barber's college numbers certainly back up Fassel's wishes. The Virginia RB also proved to be a productive runner, too. He rushed 250 times for 1,360 yards and 14 TDs. He also caught 22 passes for 258 yards. Plus, he returned 19 punts for 241 yards and one TD and one kickoff for 14 yards. For his full college career (inlcuding bowl games), Barber rushed 681 times for 3,524 yards and 32 TDs, caught 68 passes for 613 yards and two TDs, returned 71 punts for 757 yards and two TDs and returne 11 kickoffs for 216 yards.
Fassel mentioned Larry Centers and David Meggett when he was talking about Barber. Look for the Giants' No. 2 rookie to be a big part of the offense this year.
Although he was bothered by a sore hamstring his senior year, Phillips posted 7.5 sacks for 41 yards lost. In four years, he notched 39 sacks for 221 yards. His best year was his sophomore year when he posted 13.5 sacks for 87 yards. As a junior, he registered 11 sacks for 61 yards.
The Giants checked him out on April 18, the day before the draft, one last time to see how his hamstring was. They liked what they saw. Phillips was recently timed at 4.56 in the 40.
Maynard gets the ball off quickly and boots it far. He made such an impression in the Mid-American Conference that he was named MVP of the conference.
As a senior, he punted 59 times for 2,705 yards (45.85 average). His longest punt was 70 yards. He dropped 36 punts inside the 20, 11 inside the 10 and four inside the 5. His net average was 41.42 yards.
In four years at Ball State, Maynard punted 242 times for 10,702 yards (44.22 average). His longest punt was 76 yards. His punts ended up inside the 20 120 times, inside the 10 36 times and inside the 5 10 times. His career net average was 40.41. His 44.22 gross average ranks third in NCAA Division 1-A all-time (a minimum of 200 punts). He is topped only by Bill Smith of Mississippi (44.33 average from 1983-86) and Ray Guy of Southern Mississippi (44.67 average from 1970-72.)
A fan favorite in Madison, Monty led the Badgers in tackles for three straight years (131, 137 and 178, respectively from sophomore through senior years). He set a school record for total tackles with 451.
Monty can cover both the run and the pass. He picked off two passes last year and recovered two fumbles. All in all, he recovered five fumbles and interecepted four passes in his career.
Garnes was a happy rookie when he learned he was "coming home." He's from the Bronx.
Garnes notched 318 tackles in his career and picked off seven passes. He also recovered six fumbles and forced four.
Cherry is a classic pocket passer with tremendous arm strength. He's not a scrambler, but can move out of the pocket.
He completed 170 passes out of 301 attempts for 2,406 yards. He hit for 18 TDs but was intercepted 14 times. As a junior, Cherry hit on 135 of 225 passes for 2,084 yards. He threw for 16 TDs and was intercepted 10 times. He also hit on 31 of 50 passes for 339 yards and two TDs with one INT in a playoff game that year.
Prior to 1995, Cherry was with Arkansas, where he saw limited action.
As a senior he made 66 tackles, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and notched five sacks for 39 yards. His career totals are: 217 tackles, 32 tackles for loss for 133 yards., 12 sacks for 84 yards.
Obviously, as a seventh-round pick, Keneley's value wasn't high, but he has a chance of making the team if he proves he can be a solid backup and contribute on special teams.
The Giants announced the signing of four free agents on March 20. They signed one veteran Ñ T Alan Kline; two first-year players Ñ S Picasso Nelson and S Brandon Sanders; and one rookie free agent Ñ TE Brandon Jessie.
Kline, 6-5, 290 pounds, was originally signed by the Saints as a rookie FA out of Ohio State in 1994. After spending the first 15 games of the 1994 season on the Saints' practice squad, he was signed to the active roster for the final game of the year but was placed on the inactive list for the game.
He played in three games for the Saints in 1995, mostly on specials. Kline was allocated to the Rhein Fire of the World League for further development during the spring of 1995. He was waived by the Saints during camp last year and did not play anywhere else in 1996.
Nelson, 6-0, 208, was in training camp with the Oilers last season after being signed as a rookie FA out of Jackson State. Nelson was waived in training camp and remained out of football for the remainder of 1996. He was a three-time All-SWAC performer and was named to several All-America teams following his senior year in college. He finished his collegiate career with 330 tackles and 13 INTs. He was named the 1995 SWAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the nation in INTs with eight.
Sanders, 5-9, 180, was in training camp with the Chiefs last season after being signed as a rookie FA out of Arizona. He was waived during camp and stayed out of football for the rest of 1996. He started every game he played in for Arizona, opening 43 regular-season games and three bowl games during his four-year career. He posted 199 tackles (149 solos), nine INTs, five sacks and 25 passes defensed at Arizona.
Jessie, 6-6, 255, was an outstanding college basketball player at Utah from 1994-96, averaging 15.2 points as a guard. The son of former NFL All-Pro WR Ron Jessie (Rams, 1975-79 and Lions 1971-74), Brandon Jessie transferred to Utah from Ventura Junior College where he was a two time All-America. He was named the 1993-94 California Junior College Player of the Year. A McDonald's All-America high school football player, Jessie opted for basketball despite being recruited heavily for football. His only collegiate football experience was in 1992 at Ventura Junior College.
Veteran Roster
93 Agnew, Ray DT 86 Alexander, Kevin WR 98 Armstead, Jessie LB 78 Bishop, Greg T/G 77 Bratzke, Chad DE 17 Brown, Dave QB 55 Buckley, Marcus LB 80 Calloway, Chris WR 58 Colman, Doug LB 87 Cross, Howard TE 3 Daluiso, Brad K 62 Davis, Scott G 82 Douglas, Omar WR 24 Douglass, Maurice S 96 Duff, Jamal DE 43 Ellsworth, Percy S 52 Galyon, Scott LB 95 Gilliard, Darnell DT 74 Gragg, Scott T 41 Hamilton, Conrad S 75 Hamilton, Keith DE 27 Hampton, Rodney RB 97 Harris, Robert DE 79 Holsey, Bernard DT 48 Jessie, Brandon TE 94 Jones, Cedric DE 13 Kanell, Danny QB 68 Kline, Alan OT 81 Lewis, Thomas WR 57 Miller, Corey LB 25 Nelson, Picasso S 72 Oben, Roman T 70 Okoli, Ramon DL 19 Patten, David WR 99 Peter, Christian DT 84 Pierce, Aaron H-Back 5 Player, Scott P 23 Randolph, Thomas CB 46 Regular, Moses TE 66 Reynolds, Jerry G/T 34 Sanders, Brandon S 83 Saxton, Brian TE 67 Schreiber, Adam C 31 Sehorn, Jason S 61 Smith, Lance G 22 Sparks, Phillippi CB 65 Stone, Ron G 92 Strahan, Michael DE 63 Summer, Jamie G 54 Talley, Ben LB 64 Thorp, Deron T 89 Toomer, Amani WR 33 Walker, Robert RB 30 Way, Charles FB 28 Wheatley, Tyrone RB 8 White, Stan QB 90 Widmer, Corey LB 59 Williams, Brian C 29 Wooten, Tito S 47 Young, Rodney S 73 Zatechka, Rob G
TGN Editor Rick Maddock has a Sports Talk show every Wednesday night at 10 (Eastern Time) on America Online. He's in the Stadium Club of the Grandstand sports area. Be sure to stop by and visit. If you need directions to get there, e-mail Rick at Maddog4911.
TGN is taking orders for its 1997 E-mail service.
The Season Package, which will begin the week of July 27 and runs for as long as the Giants are playing, is available. It will begin with training camp and preseason reports. There will be three reports a week. Two leading up to the game and then a big transmission following the game. The game report will include a game story, statistics and quotes. It will be produced overnight and ready for delivery before you get your morning newspaper.
To order, call 1-800-READ-TGN, Extension 222. The cost is $100.
TGN has the few remaining silver replicas of L.T.'s rookie card. Each is numbered and a top-shelf collector's item. If you would like to order one, call 1-800-READ-TGN. The cost is $275.
The Giants Road Crew travels to all the Giants' road games. Call 1-800-959-FANS to find out more information on Giant road trips.
Trips can be arranged from anywhere for fans outside of the New York-New Jersey area.
All trips include tickets to the game, airfare, hotel accommodations, a Meet the Giants cocktail party, Giants Road Crew T-shirt, taxes and baggle handling, all ground transportation and Giants luggage tags.
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