The article is from the Tallahasee Democrat newspaper in Florida.
Droogsma's path from shot putter to Giants guard started with the Giants calling Droogsma's college shot put coach.
Droogsma was not even considering the NFL until he got the call from the Giants, in which the Giants asked him to attend the Rookie Camp a few weeks ago.
Whether or not Droogsma makes it in the NFL, Gettleman and his staff deserve a lot of credit in the search for hog mollies.
Droogsma makes an interesting point in that he doesn't have any bad traits in his football game, since he didn't play in college and is welcoming starting with a clean slate and the Giants molding his size, strength, and athleticism into the type of guard they need.
I am sure that Giants coaches and fans alike will be very interested to see what happens once the pads and the hitting start.
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Droogsma is the No. 124 recruit in Florida (FL) and is the No. 40 Offensive Guard in the nation.
Droogsma has a 247Sports rating of 82, making him a 3-star prospect.
But I do love the info about Droogsma's drive to succeed, about his realization that it's totally out of the blue, or that his fellow try-out players at camp thought his story was "hilarious". Among the vast majority of those try-outs who were cut, I wonder how funny they think it is now that Droogsma is still among the 90?
Physically, he appears to be a match with Hernandez, so I guess DG like his OGs seriously bulky. Best line of the article is about how, once the Giants contacted him (out of the blue) it became clear to Droogsma that "[the Giants] have a plan."
Maybe, he should tell Dan Graziano about that...
Also Dalvin Tomlinson was a wrestling stud in HS. And he's a starter, not a maybe make the PS guy like O'Hagan.
Droogsma is the No. 124 recruit in Florida (FL) and is the No. 40 Offensive Guard in the nation.
Droogsma has a 247Sports rating of 82, making him a 3-star prospect.
930 in the country? ... so there is a chance then. Go get them Austin.
Eric Swann ....dam - remember that guy? All the hype had him as the next Reggie White.
I think Arizona took him early in the first round - then nothing. Did he play 1 game?
You're going from 90 down to 53. i dont see why not, you give this guy a chance. he's 340 lbs, you never know...
Serious Eric? Well he was no Reggie White though. I know that much. I thought I remember he had back problems? ... or some injury with Arizona that shortened his career? They took him really early too - If I remember right. I want to say 4th pick of the first round?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Swann - ( New Window )
I'm pulling for him, but wouldn't be surprised if he's one of the first players to be cut.
Wow ... I was wrong about everything. I knew he had injuries early on but it was his knees (not back). All-pro in 95 and 96 !!!??? I guess I just don't remember him. 9 years ain't to bad ..... thought it was a lot shorter than that.
Maybe it was his position? What do the say about linemen .... if you don't hear their name called they are doing good? : )
Thanks Eric.
He was a High School football player (DL) and wrestler who went to Miami on a scholarship to throw the shot.
He had a good but unremarkable career at Miami as a track athlete. He grew from 6'-3" 255 in high school to 305 in college.
After graduating he was recruited by a number of NFL teams to sign as a free agent.
However, his career in the NFL was cut short due to a back injury.
He always contended that his training for the shot prepared him for well for the NFL and if he did not injure himself that he would have played.
The shot gave him explosive power and great feet. Lets hope that Droogsma shows he belongs
The NFL blocking schemes are light-years ahead of any HS program. It will take him 6 months to figure out what is going on around him.
I guess Gettleman ran out of CB's to sign.
The NFL blocking schemes are light-years ahead of any HS program. It will take him 6 months to figure out what is going on around him.
I guess Gettleman ran out of CB's to sign.
What's the downside of putting this huge, athletic guy on the Practice Squad and seeing if you can make a football player out of him in a year or two? It's not like he's going to be pressed into service right away. It makes a lot of sense if you're looking for an investment that won't pay dividends in the short-term, but might pay off down the road.
The NFL blocking schemes are light-years ahead of any HS program. It will take him 6 months to figure out what is going on around him.
I guess Gettleman ran out of CB's to sign.
345 lbs - comes with it's own gravity field. He should be able to control his opposing DL?
Wow ... I was wrong about everything. I knew he had injuries early on but it was his knees (not back). All-pro in 95 and 96 !!!??? I guess I just don't remember him. 9 years ain't to bad ..... thought it was a lot shorter than that.
Maybe it was his position? What do the say about linemen .... if you don't hear their name called they are doing good? : )
It was fun to see the expression on the other teams faces when Leo would play above the rim at 305 lbs.
He took up so much space that it was impossible for opponents to do anything in the paint.
This was a time when 300 lbs was big
Good luck Austin ....
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Wow ... I was wrong about everything. I knew he had injuries early on but it was his knees (not back). All-pro in 95 and 96 !!!??? I guess I just don't remember him. 9 years ain't to bad ..... thought it was a lot shorter than that.
Maybe it was his position? What do the say about linemen .... if you don't hear their name called they are doing good? : )
He was a DL, so you want to hear his name.
Tomatoes ... Tomaatos "Off sides ... #91", "Hands to the face", "Ruffing the passer".
I know some of those could be called on other positions Milton but, the DL are the closest to the LOS on a regular basis. ; )
"All linemen should play like a stealthy Ninja ..."
As for the "complexity of NFL blocking schemes", come on, it's not software engineering for Microsoft or Google. Yeah it takes some smarts and lots of effort, but plenty of very average brained people get it.
We had WRs with wonderlic scored around 10 succeed for the Giants with Nicks and Manningham, under Gilbride's and TC's complex system.
In his case, it stands for Huge Motherlovin' White Guy.
on him like a battering ram .
Talk about bad-ass.
And it shows league wide on the field.