Giants Home | New York Giants – Giants.com

Thomas has made good on recruiters' belief in his talent. The five-star prospect and top-50 overall recruit stepped into the lineup immediately for the Bulldogs, garnering Freshman All-American accolades after starting all 15 games at right tackle straight out of Georgia's Pace Academy. (Not surprisingly, he was named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Super 11" team.) He moved to left tackle for his sophomore campaign, earning second-team Associated Press All-American and first-team All-SEC honors for his play in 13 starts. Thomas missed one game in 2018 due to an ankle injury, but the only game he missed in his junior campaign was the bowl game to prepare for the draft. He started 13 games at left tackle and was awarded first-team Associated Press All-American and first-team all-conference accolades in 2019.

McKinney started all 13 games in a third-team Associated Press All-American and first-team All-SEC junior campaign, topping the Tide's defense with 95 tackles (5.5 for loss, three sacks) and finishing among the national leaders with four forced fumbles. He also intercepted three passes, broke up five others and blocked a kick. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore, grabbing the starting role in fall camp (73 tackles, six for loss, three sacks, two interceptions and 10 pass breakups in 15 starts). McKinney was named the Defensive MVP of the Orange Bowl with five tackles and four pass breakups against Oklahoma to send Alabama to the national title game. He returned an interception for a touchdown in both 2018 and '19. As a true freshman in 2017, McKinney played in 13 games as a reserve and on special teams (eight tackles, 1.5 for loss). The Roswell, Georgia, native was a top-50 overall prospect nationally after earning state Class 7A Defensive Player of the Year honors from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution his senior season (82 tackles, seven interceptions, nine pass breakups).

Peart's (pronounced PAYRT) family moved from Kingston, Jamaica to The Bronx in New York City when he was four years old. Growing up in the city, he focused on basketball until heading to Governor's Academy in Massachusetts for high school. Once there, coaches made sure he played football before basketball season began (he was a team captain for the hoops team). UConn saw his potential as a tackle, so it signed him and sat him in the 2015 season so he could get stronger. Adding 40 pounds, he started every game of the 2016 season at left tackle. Peart played there again in 2017, and then moved to the right side for his junior year. He was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection as a senior, again starting all 12 games at the right tackle spot.

Holmes proved he possesses the sort of work ethic required to play in the NFL when he graduated from UCLA in less than three years with a degree in African American Studies. A five-star prospect from Pasadena, Holmes enrolled a semester early and wound up starting 11 of 13 games played as a true freshman in 2017 (39 tackles, one tackle for loss, three interceptions, three pass breakups). Holmes was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 the following two seasons, first leading the Bruins with three interceptions and 11 pass breakups as a sophomore (also 48 tackles) as a sophomore. In 2019, he missed the first two games due to an ankle injury but started the final 10 (34 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, six pass breakups). Holmes returned an interception for a touchdown in 2017 and 2018.

Lemieux was one of just three players from the rival state of Washington on the Ducks' roster. He's been a steady presence on Oregon's line the past four seasons, starting all 52 games at the left guard spot while others moved around to fill in other spots due to various injuries. Lemieux was voted second-team All-Pac-12 by league coaches as a redshirt junior in 2018 and 2019. The Associated Press voted him second-team All-American for his play as a senior.

Brown became a playmaker in 2018 for the Nittany Lions, starting 12 of 13 games played and leading the squad with three forced fumbles (also posting 63 tackles, 6.5 for loss, two sacks, and six pass breakups). He started all 13 games in 2019, recording 72 tackles, 5.5 for loss, two sacks, and four pass breakups to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors. The cousin of former Virginia Tech and NFL receiver Andre Davis actually started two games as a true freshman (33 tackles, 1.5 for loss, in 13 contests) after being ranked a top-15 outside linebacker recruit nationally out of Maryland. Brown had similar statistical production in his sophomore season as a 12-game backup (31 tackles, 1.5 for loss).

Ohio State came after Coughlin hard on the recruiting trail but family ties to his home-state team were too deep. His father (Bob) was a defensive lineman for the Gophers, his grandfather (Tom) was MVP of the 1959 Minnesota squad, a strong player for the 1960 baseball national titlists, and the school's athletic director. The four-star recruit and top-five linebacker prospect nationally helped his Eden Prairie High team win 40 straight games before matriculating. He played in 11 games with one start in 2016 (25 tackles, four for loss, two sacks) before earning honorable mention All-Big Ten notice as a sophomore (37 tackles, led team with 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 12 starts). Coughlin was named second-team all-conference and Minnesota's Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2018 after again leading his squad with 15 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks (48 total stops) while also tying for ninth in the FBS with four forced fumbles. He was a second-team all-conference selection his senior year, as well, leading the Gophers with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks while also compiling 49 total stops, four pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

Tremari Jerelle Brunson was a home-grown prospect for the Gamecocks who grew into a team captain and Co-Most Valuable Player in 2018. He led the team with 106 tackles (10.5 for loss, four sacks) that season as a follow up to becoming a starter for the first time as a sophomore (88 tackles, 4.5 for loss, two sacks in 13 starts). He tied for fourth in the FBS in 2017 with three fumble recoveries. Brunson had surgery on a sports hernia in the spring of 2019 but returned to start all 12 games in his final campaign (77 tackles, six for loss, one interception, five pass breakups). As a true freshman, Brunson played in 11 games as a reserve (12 tackles). The Columbia native was a three-star recruit out of Richland Northeast High School, coming back from a hip injury his junior season to rack up 140 tackles as a senior.

Williamson went from Gainesville High School in Georgia (where he was a Class 5A All-State receiver) to Gainesville, Florida, to play for the Gators. He saw limited playing time in two years there, suiting up for five games as a reserve and on special teams in 2015 and in nine games with one start in 2016 (five tackles). Williamson redshirted while making the move to the Big Ten in 2017, and then became a strong contributor off the bench in 11 contests as a junior (34 tackles, 3.5 for loss, one sack, one interception, four pass breakups). He got into the starting lineup in nine of 13 games played in 2019, posting 57 tackles, four for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception and three pass breakups.

Dequartavous "Tae" Crowder was a second-team all-state running back at Harris County High School in Georgia and had to wait until late in the recruiting process to get the call from Athens. Halfway through his redshirt freshman season with the Bulldogs, he agreed to a shift to defense because of the great depth the team had at running back (Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, Elijah Holyfield, Brian Herrien). Crowder played in all 15 games as a reserve and on special teams in 2017 (seven tackles) before finally getting his shot to start five contests his junior season (53 tackles, six for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions in 14 games played). He started 13 of 14 games played as a senior, posting 62 tackles, four for loss, and four pass breakups.