Head Coach Brian Daboll

BRIAN DABOLL: Had meetings last night with these rookies. There's really kind of four groups here, if you will. There are the drafted guys, the UDFAs that we signed, the tryout players, which I'd say there's a considerable amount of them, and then some of our players who are able to participate, Trenton (Thompson), (Leonard) Johnson, (Makai) Polk, (Jashaun) Corbin and (Kalil Pimpleton) Pimp. We'll have two days here of work. I wouldn't say extensive work, just kind of get their feet wet. But it was good to get the players in here yesterday and get to meet a bunch of new guys. Again, you never know what you find out here. Ryder (Anderson) was a tryout guy last year and made our roster. (Tomon) Fox was a UDFA who ended up being on a roster and playing some plays. It's good to kind of get to know these guys and for them to get to know us. I'd say that's really the biggest thing is to get to know the player and let them know how we do things. The physical stuff, that'll all come here in the next few weeks. It's good to get Dexter (Lawrence II) done. Happy he's back. Good player for us, good leader, good person. Congratulations to Dexter, and happy for our organization, as well.

Q. Did you talk to Dex at all once you guys finalized stuff yesterday?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I've talked to Dex. I've talked to him before, I talked to him yesterday and talked to him today. Obviously, he's excited and we're happy to have him.

Q. How much did sort of moving him to nose tackle make this possible in your mind or take him to that next level?

BRIAN DABOLL: I don't know, he's just a good player, and he fits what we do. He's a good person. He's a good leader. Again, congratulations to Dexter. I know it's big news, particularly around here. Congratulate him, and he'll be in later today. I really want to try to focus on these rookies and this camp as much as we can.

Q. When you have the quarterbacks come in, obviously it's a crash course. How do you get those guys ready today to do what you need them to do?

BRIAN DABOLL: So, you meet a little bit last night, and they've been meeting all morning. There's going to be mistakes. We had a walk-through. There was plenty of them. You don't install very many plays I would say, just because for some of these tryout guys, too, you want to be able to evaluate what they can do physically relative to running around, cutting, things like that, and sometimes you give them too much, they're thinking, and you don't see the true talent of the player.

I'd say we'll take it slow. We don't have, again, very many plays in for those guys to go out there and be able to try to execute, which again, they've never thrown with the players they're throwing with. There's a lot that goes into it. That's why we're going to ease into these next two days here.

Q. You talked about not going to probably do a ton. How does a guy like Ryder, what does a tryout do to make you say we want this guy on our roster?

BRIAN DABOLL: Again, it starts in the meeting room in terms of how they're picking things up and the things they ask, and then you do individual drills like you would go out there and do a workout for a prospective college guy or in the fieldhouse when we bring in other free agents we're looking at. For those big guys, it is tough, no question about it. For the skill guys, it's a little bit better to evaluate, but again, you're just putting them through drills like you do before the draft, and then you go back and take a look at some of their tape and evaluate. It's hard. It's hard to have 50-some tryout guys. It's hard to make. We don't have a lot of spots available, so they've got to kind of stand out in the classroom, on the practice field, how they do things, and if you see something that catches your eye, you do a little bit more homework on them.

Q. Speaking of quarterbacks, what did you see in Tommy DeVito to bring him in here?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he came to our camp, the local day. He spun the ball pretty good, was productive. I know he was at Syracuse, too. Was good in the meetings that we had with him. I know he's a local legend around here, but he's got a long way to go, a lot to learn, but good young man to work with.

Q. Do you remember when Ryder was first on your radar last year?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, I just remember him at the camp as a big, long player and kind of stood out to the defensive staff and worked his way in there and brought him on. Again, it's that one in however many, 50 or whatever it is, so it's hard to do, no question about it. That's why we bring in a lot of players for this type of camp. You can do it in different ways. You can just bring a couple of draft picks and UDFAs. We like to bring a fair amount of people in and maybe find one or two guys that you think can help you and work with them.

Q. What are you looking to get out of your third quarterback? You obviously have two guys that are pretty well established. What are you looking for from that role this year?

BRIAN DABOLL: That same thing, we have three quarterbacks here, so the same thing that we look for in all our quarterbacks, can they process our information, can they operate the offense, and do they have a skill set that we'd like to work with.

Q. I'm asking because I know sometimes teams use their third quarterback, they're basically drawing up scouting reports, working in the classroom. How much does that factor into the equation for these guys? Are you looking strictly at how do they spin it, and do they do it right now or are we looking for what can they turn into in the future here?

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, I think with any young player, quarterback, running back, receiver, you're looking at their skill set and how you think they can help your football team, whether that's a developmental prospect -- the other stuff, the scouting reports and all that stuff, we have plenty of young assistants, and I know that's something that Davis (Webb) did, but it's probably a unique situation. This is more let's look at their ability, let's see how they process things, let's see how they learn our stuff and see if we think they can develop because that's the ultimate goal of a coach is to help a player develop into what we think they can be.

Q. With a guy like Jalin, he's a drafted guy. He doesn't have to go out and prove he's fast; you know he's fast. How do you start with a rookie receiver like that getting him refined in routes and things like that?

BRIAN DABOLL: I'd just say it's a process. It's a process for some of the new receivers that we just added. It's probably a little bit of a bigger mountain for the younger players because there's so much to learn. I've said this last year, too, they where things are in the building, how we do things, meetings, how we do things in the training room, and then they have all this information that they have to try to listen to and then go out there and be able to process and use their skill set. It's a day-by-day process and I don't have grand expectations for any of these young players because they have such a long way to go, regardless of where they were drafted. Just come in, learn how we do things, compete, and if you do that, you beat somebody out then you beat somebody out.

Q. Do you look for something like a punt returner in these camps, and do you have anybody in mind right now on your full roster and here that you think maybe that's a role they could fill?

BRIAN DABOLL: I mean, we'll see. Again, it's May. It's a long time. We've got a lot of guys on the roster that can field punts. We'll see how that goes.

Q. How do you balance players who are -- they're learning, they're going to make mistakes, but if the mistakes repeat themselves, I've got to think that's frustrating. How do you kind of balance from popping off they guy versus teaching the guy and coaching him along?

BRIAN DABOLL: That's a great question. Sometimes I pop off, sometimes I teach. You're a teacher at heart. Again, there's a bunch of things that come into this first camp. You really want to set a precedent of how your organization wants to be run and what your expectations are in the classroom, on the field. But I understand that these guys just came from -- some from far, a lot of trips, some didn't have much of an opportunity in terms of getting looked at in the draft and are here for tryouts, so there's probably a lot of anxiety, a lot of nervousness that are running through these guys' minds right now. I really appreciate that about these young players. Going back to Alabama and being around them, then coming back to the league, I think that helped me. There's a certain level of expectation, but again, it's the first day out here. I know there's going to be a lot of mistakes made. It's the first day out here for 2023 season for all the coaches, too. We've been in phase 2, but this is really our first practice. We've got to improve, as well. That all starts with me.

We'll all make mistakes. We'll learn from them. I'm not going to change how I am. For mistakes that are dumb mistakes, then I usually get upset. But there's going to be a bunch of them made today and tomorrow, a bunch of them made with the new guys we just signed. We've got a long way to go, just keep grinding it out, getting better day-by-day.

Q. One of the new guys, the UDFAs who's gotten a lot of attention is (Bryce) Ford-Wheaton. Curious what attracted you guys to him.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, thought he did a good job at West Virginia. He came in on one of the pre-draft visits. He's a big-body guy who's got pretty good numbers in terms of explosiveness and running. He really was a pleasure to meet. Did a good job in the pre-draft process of learning some of the stuff when he talked to Coach (Mike) Groh. So just another guy to throw in the mix and let him compete it out.

Q. Where does a rookie center start on a day like today?

BRIAN DABOLL: At center. Just kidding. The process?

Q. Yeah.

BRIAN DABOLL: All the guys are in there with Bobby (Johnson) and (Chris Smith) Smitty, and there's a lot to pick up, but again, I think that what we try to do, I'm not saying it's right or wrong, what we try to do is limit really what we put in the first couple days just because, again, there's so much for these guys to learn every year, and I want them to just go out there and feel comfortable and try to play fast. John Michael (Schmitz) is a smart guy, but there's so many things just even from the walk-through that we just had that your mind is moving a million miles a minute. Just like we do with all our guys, we have a process in place of how we try to develop them in the classroom, on the field and that'll take some time.

Q. During the course of your career, you've dealt with quarterbacks a lot. Is there somebody you can remember who was at this stage right here who went on to really surprise you what they became in their career?

BRIAN DABOLL: Off the top of my head, I don't think I can give you one. Are you just talking about as a rookie or an undrafted rookie?

Q. Maybe you did it somewhere else, but you saw them in something like this for the first time and he went on to -- the Brock Purdy stories --

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, not really. Most of the places I've been, it's a couple days, don't make too much out of it. Really get to know them, them get to know us. Again, just the first step of them being here in these doors, and like I said, probably a lot of nerves, but I also want those guys to go out there and be themselves and have some fun and get something out of these next two days.

Defensive Lineman Dexter Lawrence

Q. I know it's kind of taboo in corporate America and outside, but how often do you guys amongst yourselves talk about contracts and hey, I need to get this or what do I need to get in terms of my contract?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I'd say the group I'm around, it's not like a big conversation. The people I surround myself with, we just talk about being great, and whatever comes with being great comes with being great. Obviously, everybody loves to get paid. Everybody loves to have money, but at the end of the day the people I'm around, we talk about how to win and how to be great.

Q. What was important to you with this deal? What did you want from it, the amount and what was important to you?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I don't think the amount to me was that important – just being respected and understanding who I am as a player and what I'm worth. I didn't have a set number in mind or anything like that. I just knew that I wanted to be respected for my production and my leadership around here and everything else.

Q. When you saw the (Titans Defensive Tackle Jeffrey) Simmons numbers come in, obviously Jeffrey's deal, that sort of was a little bit of a benchmark. Was there any thought from your end to wait to see what (Jets Defensive Lineman) Quinnen (Williams) would have gotten?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Like I said, for me, I wasn't out here trying to set records or do anything like that. I was just trying to be respected. The market was the market. At the end of the day, I'm happy with my contract. That's why signed. I'm ready to get out here and play football with my guys.

Q. Did you fly up here today or last night?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Yeah, I flew up this morning.

Q. Were you hanging out back home?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I was in Florida training.

Q. What did it actually feel like to take that pen and sign that -- and guarantee that much money?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I think all of my excitement happened like five minutes after my agent called me and was like, 'Okay, we've got the deal.' It took me a second to process it. My mom, my lady was in town in Florida, so that was good. We got to do our little happy dance, so that was cool. It was great. Signed the papers today. This was a release. It was a stressful little time, but it's over now, and it's time to play football.

Q. Can you characterize how the contract negotiations go with the Giants? Did they keep the lines of communication open with you, make you feel appreciated and wanted?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Yeah, I would say it went smoothly, both sides. I respect (General Manager) Joe (Schoen), and he respected me, so (there) wasn't a lot of disrespect going on. Just almost like casual conversation. It was good. It was healthy. At the end of the day, both sides in negotiation, both sides have to be here and there a little uncomfortable, I think, but at the end of the day, I saw him today, smiles. It was fun. Obviously, you have head-butt moments, but at the end of the day I love them, and they respect me.

Q. What teammates other than Leonard (Williams) have you heard from?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: A lot of guys were calling me. My phone was going crazy. I was playing NBA2K (laughs) as part of my celebration, but my phone was going crazy. I got back to as many people as I could. Everybody was excited for me, and I'm just ready to go.

Q. When you talk about being great, there are a lot of good defensive tackles, a lot of them paid and some of them in front of you, some of them behind you. Where do you feel like you are among some of the great defensive tackles in this league?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I feel like I'm definitely up there. I have a lot more to go. I missed a lot of plays last year that I know I can get, and it eats at me a lot. Right now, it's just continuing to master my craft and finishing on plays that I could have made last year. Comparing myself between everybody, I'm not really that type of guy, I just know my standard for myself, and I know what I can do and what I can produce.

Q. Did the Eagles loss stick with you this off-season?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Yeah, I don't like that. Too many times.

Q. Will you be part of the voluntary program now? Do you expect to be here every single day?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: You know, I'll be back with my guys. I'm excited. There's still stuff I've got to take care of. I've been in constant communication with the coaches. It's voluntary, so we'll talk about it.

Q. I'm sure there were emotions on both sides. Was there any point when the emotions and negotiations were going on that you got a little nervous, your mind starts playing games with you, is this going to happen?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Yeah, I think that's with anything. You keep going back and forth, like, 'Oh, should you push this, should you push that.' But at the end of the day, I was confident in who I thought they knew who I was as a player, so that gave me the confidence to counter some things, and they came back with some things, and if it didn't look right, I still had the confidence in myself to know who I am for this team and the player I am for this team. Sometimes it's nervous, but I prayed about it a lot, and now I've got the opportunity to change my kids' kids' lives – and I'm happy about that.

Q. Did playing for this coaching staff at all cross your mind in terms of the progress all of you made, you included, I believe, last season under Wink and the rest of the staff? Did that matter here?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Yeah, through the whole process, I was like, 'I want to play here, I want to be a Giant,' through the whole process. We have something going here, we're building something special, and you can see it from the outside and inside it's even more beautiful. I'm excited for what's going on. Like I said, the whole process I was in communication like, 'this is where I want to be,' and we got it done.

Q. How much more pressure do you feel to live up to the contract?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I don't feel pressure like that.

Q. Why not?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Simply because I prepare myself, and I know who I am as a player, and I know what I can do, and I know if I'm on top of what I've got to do, then everything takes care of itself. I'll master my craft, continue to do that, and I don't feel pressure going into games. I don't feel pressure -- this is obviously a big deal, but the pressure for me is just -- I don't see it as pressure. I embrace it. I embrace having to step up and prove -- that's what I take it as, proving my worth, continuing to do that. That's just a stepping-stone for me right now.

Q. Think back to your rookie mini-camp when you and Daniel (Jones) made a point to room together at training camp. You always said you were his biggest defender; you would defend him. The last couple months, he signed his contract, you signed your contract. If we had told you back on day one when you were together, what would have been your reaction when I threw those numbers at you?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I hope so (Laughter). I can't explain it. I'm an in-the-moment type of guy, and right now it's just beautiful to see both of us just do what's not expected, what doesn't happen a lot. The NFL career is short for a lot of people, and we've got a chance to keep playing for a team we got drafted by and continuing to play for the organization and the fans, and we're excited about it. We talk.

Q. What do you want to buy?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: (Laughs) A lake house probably. I'm a chill guy.

Q. Dexter, you did all the work, obviously, but (Defensive Coordinator) Wink Martindale came in and kind of switched your position up a little bit. Can you talk about that impact, and was he one of the first people you called once this deal was done?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: We didn't talk a lot, him and I didn't talk a lot through the process, but I knew guys were relaying messages from him saying that he missed me, and he just wanted to see my face again.

Q. Did you miss him?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I did, I did. I love Wink, and his impact as a coordinator for us is amazing. He gives us the keys. He lets us run the defense. A lot of coaches preach that, but he actually lives by that, and he'll tell you how it is, he'll tell you how he feels, and it's up to you to embrace it and run with it.

Q. How deserving do you think (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) is to be the next guy to get his done, and how much conversation is there amongst the leaders of the team?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I think Saquon is going to get what he deserves. He's a great player. He's a great leader for us, one of the top players on the team. I'm excited to see what's up for him.

Q. Why won't the big money change Dexter Lawrence?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Because I've just never been that person. Very humble, kind guy, joyful. Money is just what I have now. It's not who I am as a person and doesn't characterize me. What I want to be known as is just a guy that genuinely cares about people and a guy that has earned a lot of respect in a good way.

Q. You were obviously a good player in this league before this year, but this past year you kind of took it to the next level. Your ability to get this contract and this amount of money, a lot of it's attributed to that. How much credit do you give them putting you at nose tackle and (Defensive Line Coach) Andre Patterson coming in and sort of getting that out of you? Do you look at that as a big part of why you were able to get what you just got?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I would say I'm a disrupter. I'd say a disrupter.

Q. You're talking position-wise?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Yes. I'm a disrupter, yes. I'll say I think it was just the team that they built around, having guys like Azeez (Ojulari) when he was showing up, (Kayvon Thibodeaux) Thibs, Leo, (Justin Ellis) Jelly, guys like that, and then the coaches helping you create that confidence, continuing to help you master your craft, I think it was a whole totality of that, other than my position change. I played a little 4, 3, 0, 1, just played one more than the other.

Q. You played over the center more; that's probably the best way to say it.

DEXTER LAWRENCE: Yeah. I think I just learned my craft better and mastered it a little more. I still have work to do, but I think that was just the confidence I built from that helped me be as productive as I was.

Q. When you were a rookie, could you have dreamed or imagined signing this kind of contract?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: No. Like I said, I would say I was naïve to a sense. I'm a moment-by-moment guy. Okay, I did this. My ultimate goal is to be legendary, to be a Hall of Famer. I got drafted. That's one step. Okay, let's have a good rookie year. Let's not make the same mistakes the next year. Let's keep building until you get to where you're at, and I'm not where I'm at now, where I want to be. I think it's just a constant growth, as a person honestly and then as a player.

Q. Where do you want to be?

DEXTER LAWRENCE: I want to be a Hall of Famer.

Cornerback Deonte Banks

Q. How was the first day?

DEONTE BANKS: It was really good. Real smooth. Real light. Real good.

Q. What's been your first impression of Coach Daboll and the coaching staff, just getting you acclimated here?

DEONTE BANKS: I like it. I like the coaches, I like how they coach me. It's real smooth. It's real good.

Q. How about the important stuff? What do you think of No. 36?

DEONTE BANKS: It's alright. It's just what I have right now. That's what I'm working with right now. That's cool.

Q. Did you pick it?

DEONTE BANKS: No, I didn't pick it, no. They just gave it to me.

Q. You grew up watching the Ravens. How easy was it for you to go out there and kind of execute what (Defensive Coordinator) Wink Martindale was asking you to do?

DEONTE BANKS: They play a lot of man, so if you know me, you know how I play man.

Q. What is it about man defense that you like?

DEONTE BANKS: I don't know, it's just a mentality thing. I just love doing it.

Q. Is there ever a challenge that you ever back down from?

DEONTE BANKS: Never.

Q. Is that just part of your DNA?

DEONTE BANKS: Yeah, that's just me. That's who I am.

Q. What was the reaction like at home? You talked about how you wanted to kind of be a role model for the kids at your school. Have you gotten any reaction from the school people or coaches or anything like that since the draft?

DEONTE BANKS: A lot of people showed me a lot of love. Even my high school showed me a lot of love, people just around whole city, they've shown me a lot of love.

Q. How did the high school show you?

DEONTE BANKS: They actually put me up on -- if you ride past the high school it says some words on it, and it says, 'congrats.' That's all.

Q. What do you think you need to work on? What do you want to develop?

DEONTE BANKS: Right now, I'm just trying to get better every day, be a better player every day.

Q. Who are you looking forward to meeting of the veterans when they come in? They haven't been around, but they will be soon.

DEONTE BANKS: Everybody, just everybody. Just being with everybody. I just want to be with everybody.

Q. Working with the guys at Maryland who you had at receiver, how did that prepare you for what you saw out here today?

DEONTE BANKS: It definitely prepared me because we had Dontay Demus, Rakim Jarrett, (Jacob) Copeland, all of those guys they compete a lot, so it just makes it competitive.

Q. Are you planning to sign your contract this weekend?

DEONTE BANKS: No, I don't know that.

Q. Who was the best guy you faced in college?

DEONTE BANKS: In my career? I'd say (Jets Wide Receiver) Garrett Wilson for sure. Actually (Ohio State Wide Receiver) Marvin (Harrison), Marvin was cool.

Q. Do you talk trash with Marvin?

DEONTE BANKS: I tried. He (didn't) talk too much.

Q. Is that something you bring to the NFL, just talking on the line? Is that something you like doing a lot?

DEONTE BANKS: I've got to get in there first. I've got to make my mark first.

Q. You're obviously excited to start this next phase of your career. How do you balance that with keeping your focus and not over doing it?

DEONTE BANKS: I really don't feel like it's a switch. I feel like it's just me being me.

Q. I heard talking to some guys down in Maryland that your biggest rivalry was one of your closest friends in (Raiders Cornerback Jakorian Bennett) J.B. in that DB room. How special is it to have both you guys in the pros?

DEONTE BANKS: J.B., we were really competitive with each other. We always challenged each other, and I feel like that's what made us get drafted.

Q. Do you look for that kind of relationship when you get in the locker room around the veterans?

DEONTE BANKS: For sure, definitely. You've got to. That's what makes the team better, makes the chemistry better.

Q. You're the first rounder. I'm sure all eyes are on you being the alpha out here. Is there a lot on that?

DEONTE BANKS: I feel like there's no pressure on me. I'm just ready to work.

Q. A year ago when you were coming off the shoulder injury, is this what the dream was, first round NFL Draft pick? Would you have thought this was possible?

DEONTE BANKS: I always thought this was possible. Just actually if I didn't get injured, I would have entered that year, my junior year.

Q. That really messed up your plans then?

DEONTE BANKS: It did, but everything worked out in my favor I feel like. I graduated too, so it was good.

Q. What's your degree in?

DEONTE BANKS: Family science.

Q. What does family science entail?

DEONTE BANKS: Just working with kids, being a teacher or being a trainer, or a coach.

Q. Is that something you did a lot in college? Did you spend your spare time working with kids and getting out in the community?

DEONTE BANKS: Yeah, for sure, had to. Got to.

Q. Why?

DEONTE BANKS: I like seeing the smiles on young kids' faces.

Q. Do you anticipate maybe having a camp down the line?

DEONTE BANKS: Oh, for sure, 100 percent.

Q. What does it mean when you see a coach who really wants to get to know you?

DEONTE BANKS: He's real cool. He's a real cool guy. I feel like it's just us. We're just cool.

Q. What's it like to work with (Defensive Backs) Coach Henderson, a former NFL DB?

DEONTE BANKS: Really good. He knows a lot and he's going to teach me a lot.

Q. Has he taught you anything since you walked in the door? I know it's early.

DEONTE BANKS: He showed us my defense, and I'm learning that right now.

Q. What was it like going through that first walk-through?

DEONTE BANKS: It was really cool. Everything was real slowed down for me. I like walk-throughs. I take pride in walk-throughs.

Wide Receiver Jalin Hyatt

Q. You didn't get any reps in 7-on-7. Did that allow you to get a little more work?

JALIN HYATT: That's something you've got to talk to Dabs about, but my goal out here was just to get better and just focus on me and the team and what I can do to help this team. That's really my goal today.

Q. I know you were here after getting drafted that weekend, but when you come out on the practice field, does it set in a little more with the stadium out here?

JALIN HYATT: Yeah, it's beautiful here. Just coming out here seeing the stadium from a distance and coming on the practice field and being able to see the coaches and being around my teammates, it was fun. It was a blessing and I had a lot of fun today.

Q. We heard a lot about your offense coming out of Tennessee. How frustrating was that to hear, and what do you want to show out here to dispel some of those misconceptions?

JALIN HYATT: I'm a football player at the end of the day. Yeah, I came from Tennessee's offense, which I had fun in, learned a lot of new things in that offense and now coming into this offense learning more new things. But at the end of the day I'm a football player. I can play any offense and I'm just glad I'm here.

Q. Last summer you really upped your intensity in the workouts, really recommitted. How much do you think that is a reason why you're here right now?

JALIN HYATT: I think it's a big reason, putting in the work, believing in myself, having confidence on the field, and not only that, but showing out when it's time for you to show out. I really believe that whenever your opportunity is, you've got to make the most of it, and I think I did that last season and can't wait to do it this season when my opportunity comes up.

Q. What's been your feel on Coach Daboll and the coaching staff?

JALIN HYATT: Oh, yeah, I love the coaching staff here. Coach Daboll and the coaching staff that we have, they definitely know what they're talking about. I'm with them 24/7 trying to get the plays down, trying to learn the new playbook and just being around good guys like that and knowing that they know what they're doing. It just makes it easier for me. I just go out there and play and just listen to them.

Q. What do you think about Brian Daboll? He seems like a very likable coach.

JALIN HYATT: Yeah, he's very likable. Hard-nosed coach. He's going to get on you, but that's what you want in a coach. You want somebody that's going to be hard on you, tell you when you're wrong, and at the same time praise you when you're right, so I think that's what he is, and I'm just glad to be a part of them and this coaching staff and the teammates here.

Q. Is the whole route tree thing people have asked you about in the draft process, is that kind of a surprise or a disappointment a little bit, this whole 'he can't do the route tree?'

JALIN HYATT: People are always going to say things. I think that's what I learned the most. I'm here now and I'm here with the Giants, and the draft process and everything else is out of the way. I'm here, and my only focus now is getting better, learning my new teammates, learning the coaching staff here, learning the playbook and just going out there when my opportunity presents itself, and that's my goal and that's what I want to do.

Q. Do you think it's safe to say that the Giants in this offense are going to ask you to do more than you were asked do in college as far as routes and things like that?

JALIN HYATT: We have a great coaching staff. I think we all know that, and whatever they ask me to do, I'm going to do it to the best ability I can do. My goal, like I said earlier, is just to come out here and learn my new teammates, learn the coaching staff, learn the playbook and have fun at the end of the day, so that's really my only goal.

Q. That video of you with the Cowboys receivers coach kind of made its rounds. What do you make of that when people do question sort of the route running tree and what did you make of that situation at the time, and did it bother you?

JALIN HYATT: No, it didn't bother me at all. Coaches and -- a lot of people have their own opinions on things, and I respect the Cowboys receiver coach, met with him when I went up to one of my 30 visits when I went up there. I have a lot of respect for him, and like I said, that's in the past now. Draft process is in the past. I'm here with the New York Giants, and I'm just ready to get to work.

Q. You guys play them twice a year; does that spark you a little bit knowing there's somebody on the other side that maybe doubts you?

JALIN HYATT: Any team I go against, that's going to spark me. I'm in the NFL now, and I'm here with grown men. I can't wait to just go out there and play. It doesn't matter what team it is or who we're facing. I just can't wait to go out and represent for the Giants and represent for this coaching staff.

Q. How long do you think it'll stay with you that; unexpectedly to many of us you were a third-round draft pick?

JALIN HYATT: You know, at the end of the day it's still a blessing. Still blessed that they traded up to get me. I think that's really big. I really have a lot of respect for the Giants for doing that. My goal now is to prove myself to them, and that's really what I'm focused on, and I can't wait to get to work.

Q. They have a need for a big receiver. You obviously bring great speed, as well. Do you feel like you'll fit in quickly?

JALIN HYATT: Yeah, I think I'm fitting in well, just being here and meeting the new guys and meeting the coaching staff here, and like I said, whatever the coaches want me to do, I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. I'm just blessed to be here and just can't wait to get to work.

Q. What stands out to you about being on an NFL practice field, being in an NFL facility?

JALIN HYATT: I would say for me it's just a new environment. Coming from college, University of Tennessee, and now coming to New York, I've never been to a big, big city before, and this is really my first time actually being in New York. So far it's everything that I thought it would be. It's beautiful here, just being around here, beautiful on the practice field. When I went out there today, man, I was just soaking it up, just being on that field today and seeing my teammates and seeing the coaching staff and just being around them. I had a blessed day. I think that's really the biggest thing, blessed, I think that's the biggest thing.

Q. Have you thrown with Daniel yet?

JALIN HYATT: I haven't thrown with Daniel yet. We're going to try to find something else later, so we'll see.

Cornerback Tre Hawkins III

Q. Congratulations. Were you expecting to get drafted when you did? I know the Giants had shown some interest in you, right?

TRE HAWKINS: Yeah, it's kind of like when you get drafted you never really know, so I didn't have any expectation. I'm blessed to be drafted.

Q. Did you have family around? Were you watching the draft?

TRE HAWKINS: I had the family, but I didn't have too many people just in case I didn't get drafted, but I had my immediate family around.

Q. What's your best attribute as a player?

TRE HAWKINS: My best attribute? I would say my physicality. I'm physical. I'm versatile. I can play anywhere in the back end, and my speed, length and strength.

Q. What was your slot outside in college?

TRE HAWKINS: I didn't play any slot at all. I just played strictly corner, outside corner.

Q. All the scouting reports mention your physicality. Obviously football is a physical game, but where else does that come from, the physicality? What other things did you do? Why is that your mindset?

TRE HAWKINS: I guess I would say I was kind of born with it, growing up with older cousins and you're kind of getting picked on. You've got to be kind of the tough dog out of the little family. I kind of was born with it, kind of groomed into it.

Q. I know it's early in the process, but do you feel your skill set fits in with what Coach Martindale wants to do?

TRE HAWKINS: Oh, yes, sir. He likes to play man and stuff like that, so most definitely.

Q. Could you see yourself a press man type corner?

TRE HAWKINS: I could see myself playing anywhere in the NFL. I can fit any scheme.

Q. Did you have a relationship with Oshane?

TRE HAWKINS: Oshane? I went to ODU and I came from a junior college, so I personally didn't get to meet Oshane, but he welcomed me in when he came up here today.

Q. What does he mean to guys who played at ODU? Not everybody there is primed for the NFL.

TRE HAWKINS: He meant a lot. He wasn't there when a lot of people were there, but people kind of looked up to him because we don't have a lot of people going to the NFL, a of draft picks, so when he comes in, he's most definitely welcome.

Q. Whenever a guy gets drafted like you, not from a Power Five type situation, but level of competition, can he step it up to the next level, what do you say to that, and what are some of the best guys you've played against that will prove that point?

TRE HAWKINS: I don't let too much into level competition. When I face a guy who came from Power Five -- when we hit the NFL, Power Five or Sun Belt or DII doesn't matter. If you get in the NFL, you've got the same competition. Randy Moss, when he went -- where did he go?

Q. Marshall.

TRE HAWKINS: Yeah, he went to Marshall. There's greats everywhere, so level competition isn't too much of a difference.

Q. How much does that JuCo mentality carry with you to where you are now?

TRE HAWKINS: JuCo mentality is more so like eat or starve, so it's kind of the same thing here. It's kind of eat or starve.

Q. What sort of special teams stuff did you do in college?

TRE HAWKINS: I didn't play a lot of special teams at ODU, but at JuCo I played special teams around, I played punt, kickoff, kickoff return. Pretty much a little bit of everything.

Q. I would think that's something you probably would embrace the opportunity -- I know you want to play on defense of course but obviously a guy coming in as a rookie is going to have to do to do some special teams here?

TRE HAWKINS: I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to earn my trust on special teams. I'm looking forward to taking that role.

Q. What was your pre-draft contact with the Giants like? Did you have a meeting with them at the combine or any of the All-Star games?

TRE HAWKINS: Just a top-30 visit.

Q. Is there somebody in particular, I know you want to be your own man, but is there somebody in particular in the NFL you try to model your game after?

TRE HAWKINS: I model my game after a little bit of everybody. I've been told -- kind of making a comparison, Jalen Ramsey, Patrick Surtain, Jimmy Smith, people who kind of got my size and my traits.

Q. What about their style of play? Does that match what you try to do?

TRE HAWKINS: Yeah, they all come down inside with their own thing. None of them are scared neither.

Q. Does anyone call you Larry?

TRE HAWKINS: No, nobody calls me Larry. I've been called Tre since I was born.

Q. What's it like coming in with Deonte? Have you guys been bonding already I'm sure?

TRE HAWKINS: Yeah, he a cool person, and we kind of got a mutual friend, so it was kind of more so easier to talk to somebody with a mutual friend. He's a good guy.

Q. Who's the mutual friend?

TRE HAWKINS: He goes to Old Dominion, Terry Jones. He's from Baltimore, also.

Q. What was it like coming in here today and seeing the facility?

TRE HAWKINS: It's a blessing. It's kind of all hitting me that I'm in the NFL now and I'm walking through the facility being one of the guys. It's most definitely a blessing.

Q. You mentioned the top-30 visit. What stuck out about that and specifically the Giants?

TRE HAWKINS: The Giants, everybody kind of bonded. You could see from the coaches to the staff, everybody just kind of has a good relationship with each other, and that's something I pride myself in and being able to ask somebody -- like being able to look to somebody outside of a coach. Treating somebody like family, I guess.

Q. Not every cornerback wants to get to the line and make tackles and things like that. I know they say you can do that. What separates you as a cornerback in that regard, as far as coming up the line and making tackles, being involved in the run game?

TRE HAWKINS: You kind of just said it. Every corner don't want to tackle. I feel like that's something I do pride myself in, being an overall football player, from covering in to making tackles, basically the versatility about it.

Safety Gervarrius Owens

Q. What was the moment like on Saturday when you got the call?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: Man, it was crazy to say the least, just hearing my name called. It's a childhood dream since I was like eight years old. Just kind of waiting on this day, so for it to come full circle was just a blessing. All my family and friends were around me, so just being surrounded by all that love, it just really put everything in perspective for me, so I'm definitely blessed to be here and going to get to work for sure.

Q. Who are they getting? What kind of player are the Giants getting?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: Somebody that's willing to come in from day one, a hardhat guy and do the work every single day, making corrections, cleaning up footwork and things like that. Just learning the defense and stuff and just getting everybody ready.

Q. What was it like playing at Houston and then having that translate to what you're doing now in the NFL?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: Yes, sir, just priding ourselves on being able to make plays in the back end. If we mess up, then that shows up on the scoreboard, so just trying to be as detailed and polished as possible. That's kind of what Coach (Doug) Belk and Coach (Brian) Early and Coach (David) Rowe and all of them preached at Houston so just being able to transition, talked to the coaches a couple times. They seemed like some real detailed guys, so I felt like we could take advantage of it.

Q. Coach Daboll seems like someone that you can just grab a beer with but also hang out with on the football field and really get into it. What's your first thought process when you meet Brian Daboll and your general thought about him?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: Good people. Very intense, but he's relaxed at the same time. You can tell he wants the best for all his players, and I feel like he's a great guy who's going to put us in a lot of positions to make plays this year.

Q. What's it like just being out here? Just feeling out the vibes still, or are you just -- do you have a game plan in your head of what you want to accomplish?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: It was just crazy, just first day, like I said, you dream of this moment so long, then it hits you. Like the first day, me, (Deonte) Banks and Trey Hawkins running out to the field like, man, it's time, we're really here. Just trying to soak everything in, but at the same time everything is so fresh, so it's just kind of all over the place.

The first day was definitely a blessing. Got in, got some good work together, so kind of just getting acclimated to everything, but it's a blessing. That's all I can really say.

Q. You're getting acclimated to it, but you mentioned Deonte and you mentioned Trey. Talk about how you want to be brothers here, right, bring this together, so what's that like trying to build that relationship with your teammates?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: We already kind of got a good relationship. Me and Trey actually trained together, combine prep and stuff like that, down in Fort Lauderdale, so we've kind of been knowing each other over the past months. Tae, he's just one of those guys you can just walk in day one and he's just good vibes, good people. There are no egos or nothing. You can just tell you're around good people for sure.

Q. The special teams coordinator (Thomas McGaughey), his son is at Houston. Did you know him at all before the pre-draft process?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: I had some people definitely tell me he was up here. He came over there after practice and talked to me, just letting me know everything. But yeah, his son, Trent, is one of our tight ends at Houston, definitely good people, too. But yeah, Coach came over there, spoke to me. He told me he played safety, too, at Houston, so yeah, I'm going to definitely be talking to him a lot.

Q. Get your hands on some film of his play?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: Yeah, see what he was talking about.

Q. What kind of experience did you have in college on specials?

GERVARRIUS OWENS: Starting off, I played a lot of kickoff and punt and then PBR, as well, and it just kind of kept on with those things. Definitely got some -- able to play every special teams role, whatever they need me to do.