**

GM JERRY REESE**

Prince Amukamara

We were really surprised that he was there when we picked.  We thought he would get picked a lot higher than that.  But it happens like that sometimes in the draft.  Guys can fall right in your lap.  We think that is what happened.  Everybody is excited up there.  Our defensive staff is really excited up there.  Our entire room is excited about it.  His height, weight, speed – this guy is big and he is fast.  There was some concern about his production on the ball this past season because he had more production on the ball the year before.  But we think he can still play the ball really well.  He is a good tackler; physical player.  So there are a lot of things we like about Prince.

Q: With Corey Webster, Aaron Ross and Terrell Thomas, was this a need pick or value pick?

A:  He was too much value.  And it is a need pick as well for me.  He will come in and he will play right away.  He will be in the mix in our secondary right away. 

Q:  When a player drops like that, do you worry that maybe people knew something about him that you don't?

A:  There is always a concern but we go by what we have on him.  Our scouts scout him and our scouts are out for 200 days out of the year.  And our coaches do the work.  Marc Ross does some work.  I do some work on him.  We thought he was a terrific player and we never dreamed that he would be there at that point – where we picked him.  So you get lucky like that sometimes and a really good player can fall to you like that. 

Q:  Why did his production fall off?

A:  I think he had the reputation of being one of the better corners in the NCAA.  I think that was part of the issue.  The other thing is, the best player in college football was drafted in their defensive front last year.  So when you have a guy wreaking havoc up front like Suh you get interceptions back there.  So that really helps. 

Q:  When he was sitting there, did you consider moving back a bit?

A:  We always think that – do we need to move up; do we need to move back.  We waited for awhile.  We always try to wait and see what is going to happen – get an opportunity to move – somebody might want to really move up there.  But nobody had a decent enough offer for us to give up a quality pick like that.

Q:  Why is this a 'need' pick?

A:  Because you always need corners; you always need corners and you always need pass rushers.  Those two positions you always need on your defense.  So it is always a need pick.  Anytime you can get a corner, it is a need pick.

Q: Was this a slam dunk pick, or did you talk about it?

A:  We always talk it out.  Nothing is ever a slam dunk.  We always talk it out.  We always talk about why is he still up there?  What were the grades on him?  Everybody made a comment that saw him.  We had him graded really high; thought he would be gone.  So we always talk it out.  That is part of our routine up there.  We talk it out what we are doing. 

Q:  At what point did you think this guy might fall to the Giants?

A:  We had already talked about that.  We put all of the scenarios together.  And that was one of the scenarios.  We talked about the latter part of our conversation of who could fall.  But we had no idea that he was going to fall to us at that point.  We really didn't.  But it wasn't the conversation about him – "what if this guy falls down; what if these two guys are on the board; what if these three guys are on the board?"

Q:  What was the interview like; how is his football IQ?

A:  He is going to be a quick study.  He is a terrific guy.  He is exactly what you want on the field, off the field.  He is a terrific young man.  We are excited about him.  We really are.  We are really excited about Prince. 

Q:  Is he a Darrelle Revis type?

A:  He will have to prove that.  He has some qualities probably like that but he would have to prove that.  Darrelle Revis has done it.  This guy hasn't played a snap yet.  But we think he has a really good skill set.  And again, he is in the rotation right away.  Obviously height, weight, speed guys always play on your special teams.  But he is in our rotation right away challenging for a job – for the nickel, for a starting position.  So I love that competition.  There is going to be some good competition at that corner position.  

Q:  Was there any debate in the room or was it, "I can't believe this guy is here?'

A:  There was some debate.  There is always debate.  We always talk about a couple of guys.  …… and there is always a couple of guys to talk about.  So there is always debate.

Q:  How long did it take?

A:  We were ready to go.  We had talked about the scenarios unfolding - the draft unfolds right before your eyes. We started talking about those scenarios – "What did this guy do and what did this guy do?"  So we pretty much had it talked out.

Q:  Any consideration of Mark Ingram?

A:  There were several players up there.

Q:  Was he one of them?

A:  There were several players up there.

Q:  Was he in your top 10?

A:  We had him high in our draft.  We had him high on our board.

Q:  Did you see Prince in person and watch tape on him?

A:  Sure, yeah, absolutely.

Q:  What stuck out?

A:  Well, he played at a very high level.  He is very productive.  All of the background was outstanding on him.  He has just been a really good football player.  And again, we just never thought the guy would be there. 

Q:  Is he similar to anyone other than Darrelle Revis?

A:  It is hard to compare him.  It really is.  It is hard to compare him.  We just think he is going to be a terrific corner.  I hope he just finds his own identity.  But I don't have anybody in mind off the top of my head who he reminds me of.

Q:  Any consideration to the fact that his arms are not long?

A:  He is 6 ft tall so it really doesn't matter how long the arms are if you are 6 feet tall.  You always like guys that have tremendously long arms but if you are 6 feet tall ---- if you are 5'8 and you have short arms, that is a problem.  But if you are 6 feet tall and your arms aren't as long as you would like for them to be, you can still get by with that.

Q: Was he far and away the top guy left on the board?
* *A:  He was the top guy left on our board, correct.

Q:  Was there a big separation?

A: I don't know if there was a big separation, but he was the top guy on our board.

COACH TOM COUGHLIN

Q: Did you feel everyone was on the same page?

A: No question. No question. The value of this pick, where he was ranked, there wasn't any question about the fact that this player should be on the New York Giants. At one point there were probably four or five players in position there, where we felt real good about it. Then, as we got close and our pick matured, there was Prince and he was clearly the highest rated player that we could take on the board.

Q: Do you feel you can never have enough DBs?A: I've always felt that way. You can never have enough cover guys because if you watch the way people play today with the addition of the receivers, they go one, two, three, four, until they figure out what you're going to cover some of these third, fourth receivers with. The more cover people you have, the better off you're going to be. Plus this young man is physical, he's fast, he has very good size, he's confident, which you have to be as a corner in this league. Sometimes when you look at him you say "Jeez," he comes under control a little bit at the break point area. You say "Wow, you better continue to give yourself a little bit of a cushion there, young man," but then all of a sudden he makes a break on the ball and picks one off. He's physical. They bring him off the corner a lot. He's played in a division where there's all kind of wide open passing attacks, so you know he's defended a lot over the years.

Q: In the notes on him it says "Often compared to Revis." Is that fair?

A: I didn't make that comparison, but he is an outstanding, young cover-corner who has a lot of very good attributes and we look forward to coaching him.

Q: At what point do you have to consider that a guy who was supposed to go top 10 might fall into your lap?

A: As it materializes. You're very conscious of each pick and how it fits exactly. Whether you're evaluating the team that picked so that you know well, this was a need for them and now that's gone. So what's the tendency for them to do the next time around? You're very conscious of that. By the same token, you're sitting there looking at your circumstance and then it starts to materialize on the board, as you get closer to where you are, who may very well be there. So then you begin to talk about each one of those players and you just hope that the quality is there when you have a chance to pick and in this particular situation, it was.

Q: Webster, Ross and Thomas - is this a guy talented enough to get on the field with them?

A: The more you can have, the better. It becomes very, very competitive and that's the way it should be. But it also gives you great flexibility. There's versatility in this pick in terms of being able to utilize this guy on special teams, to be able to utilize him in your various coverage packages. Whether it be nickel. Whether it be dime. We're looking forward to having an opportunity to – we see him on tape as an outstanding pressure player – and how that's going to fit in for us as well.

Q: You like DBs to take on the run, can he do that?

A: He's done that in college and he has good size and we think he can.

Q: How will you not being able to spend time with him because of the current circumstances affect things?

A: We're all waiting for further instructions, as you all know. But the issue that we received today is that you can give them material and you can spend some time with them. In the process of during the draft, you don't have that much time. Let's face it, you have a lot going on. According to the way the NFL instructs us, hopefully starting tomorrow, we'll know more about the future.

Q: Were there questions about why Prince was still there?

A: No. We talked, very thoroughly, about each player that we have in a position – maybe five guys a time that we're talking about and we go over all of the grades and the whole room gets a chance to chirp in. There wasn't any question about how we felt about him.

Q: Was the debate fiery or uniform, this is our guy?

A: It was straightforward, informative. All statements were very supportive.

Q: Did you meet with his family?

A: I did not personally meet with them, no.

Q: Did you meet with him at the combine?

A: I didn't, but our coaches did.* *

DIR. COLLEGE SCOUTING MARC ROSS

Q:  Were you surprised to see Prince there?

A:  It was a shock.  It was a shock.  It was a shock.  I know we come in and say, "We picked the best player, and we were surprised."  This one truly was a shock.  Because you go through scenarios leading up to the draft where you kind of have realistic scenarios, somewhat unrealistic scenarios, of what could happen.  And this one was just completely out of left field.  We never thought this kid would have been still on the board at 19. 

Q:  Why do you think he fell?

A:  I think that run on quarterbacks really pushed some good players down.  And we had talked about that leading up to it – just that teams are going to start going after these quarterbacks.  And that is what was happening.  The kid is a great kid.  He is big; he is fast.  He has never been in any trouble, which for a corner is rare.  So it was really surprising.

Q:  At what point did you start thinking that you really had a chance to get him?

A:  We kind of started really getting in depth talking about guys about 7 or 8 picks ahead of time.  And he was still up there – we just kind of go over again. But you just assume – I just assumed that somebody would have taken him.  With each pick you kind of put him in the back of your mind.  You are talking about him but at the same time, "Well, he is going to get picked."  We kept getting closer and closer and he was there.

Q:  Did you field calls when it was your pick?

A:  They don't tell you the player when they call about trades.  They never say, "Hey, we are trying to get this guy, do you want to trade."  They just come with, "We will trade you this for that."  So we don't know who they want. 

Q:  But you did get calls?

A:  Yes.

Q:  Was that the delay, or was there discussion regarding Prince?

A:  No, it was pretty much a consensus.   But you don't want to just throw the name in right away.  You want to just kind of wait and let everything settle down and make sure that everybody is still on the same page. 

Q:  Who would you compare him to?

A:  Nobody.  Usually when I watch players I write in my notes that he is similar to this guy.  There is nobody that jumps out at me that I could really compare him to strongly.  He is kind of unique in that a guy with this size – and he is fast, fast – he is strong and plays with great instinct.  And he has tossed the guys in the gunner on special teams clean off the field.  And he is kind of unique.

Q:  You have three high picks back there now.  Do you feel you can't have enough cornerbacks?

A:  Pass rushers and corners – you can never have enough.  Because you always have to go with the best player – if you take the best player, they will play.  You can't force things.  When you try to force things and jump over guys, that is when you get burned.  When you pick the best player, they will find a way on the field.  And it just adds depth.  It brings competitiveness to the group.  You can never have enough. 

Q:  Any concerns with the dip from his junior year to his senior year?
* *A:  Of course we talked about that.  The guy had six picks as a junior.  He didn't have any this year.  So you are thinking, "Why, what is going on?"  So that is something that we talked about.  He was in position a lot – he just didn't finish on the ball as much this year as he did in the past.  But we don't see that as being a concern.  Because the guy has natural hands and he can play the ball.  So we don't think that is a problem.

Q:  Isn't that a low career interception number for a guy who started that many games?

A:  We don't think so.  You have to look at the circumstances.  Stats – you can make them any way you want to make them.  And stats wise …….and you have to watch the tape and see what the circumstances are.  Some guys will have four picks and they are just standing there and it falls into their laps. So you have to watch and evaluate how they come about.

Q:  Do you think people thought his arms weren't long enough?

A:  Yeah, he is not very --- the guy has 30 ½ arms or something like that.  They may have knocked him on that.  But we didn't.  I don't know – I don't know why other teams passed on him.  He just might not have been a fit. 

Q:  Do you think he can start?

A:  Yeah, oh yeah.  He has the mindset for it.  And that is the number one thing that college players - ………but don't do it.  This guy has done it.  And he has the mindset to do it. 

Q:  RE:  Comparison to Darrelle Revis.

A:  (Revis) is one of the best corners in the League.  It is unfair to do that to him.  But if he turns out to be half as good as that guy, that would be great.

Q:  What was his 40 time?

A:  4.4's.