The Giants officially began the trek to defend their Super Bowl title this weekend as they indoctrinated their rookie class during mini-camp.
Perhaps no rookie was more anxious — or has bigger shoes to fill — than running back and first-round pick David Wilson. The former Virginia Tech star will be the 1A option behind Ahmad Bradshaw, trying to fill the void left by the departed Brandon Jacobs.
“It finally set in that I’m ready to be a part of this team,” Wilson said. “The Giants were the Super Bowl champions and the main goal, as coach Coughlin said, is to get back there again. You just go with the flow, be yourself and try not to run in the wrong direction.”
Wilson said he has no problem being Bradshaw’s “project,” as the veteran back dubbed the rookie after he was drafted.
“I don’t know him personally, but I have seen him play and I have heard that comment,” Wilson said. “And I’m definitely looking forward to getting with him. I have seen him run [and] he is a physical back. He’s been doing it for a while. He is a hard worker and that is somebody you definitely want to stick around.”
Wilson was one of the earliest first-round picks to sign a contract (reportedly four years — terms undisclosed — with a $3 million signing bonus). Head coach Tom Coughlin thinks getting every guy in camp on time can only help expedite the learning process.
“It feels good to get back on the field and outside,” said Coughlin. “The first day of a rookie camp is usually difficult to sort out. But the good news is they got on the field, nobody fell down and they’re all okay.”
Naturally such a taskmaster as Coughlin found plenty to critique, as he pointed out that no matter what major program you came from, the learning process is still light years different in the NFL.
“Offensively, the only comment I made was [on the center-quarterback exchange] the ball doesn’t always come up when it’s supposed to and everybody’s out there jumping around,” Coughlin said. “The defense is lined up half the time the wrong way and that type of thing. So those are some of the things that have to be kind of ironed out. But when you figure you have your draft choices, your undrafted college free agents that have been signed and then the tryout people, they did all right.”
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