The New York Giants will accept help no matter where it comes from as long as they can make the team better. This week, the Giants invited three players from the University of British Columbia to try out at their rookie mini-camp, which starts on Thursday. Since none of these players is expected to make a significant impact, them making the final roster or not won’t affect New York’s NFL power rankings.
Linebacker Terrell Davis, defensive back Taylor Loffler, and kicker Quinn Van Gylswyk, are the three players that New York invited to mini-camp. As expected, all three players jumped at the opportunity to try out for one of the most storied franchises in the NFL.
The three men will meet the rest of the Giants rookies at the team’s New Jersey training facility.
When Davis was asked how he got the offer, he said his agent called him and asked him if he was interested in going to New York to attend the Giants mini-camp, which he obviously said yes to. Davis said playing in the NFL is something he had dreamed of for a long time, so there was no way he was going to pass up the opportunity.
When asked, Loffler said he was amazed just to have an opportunity to try out for the Giants. He had hoped to make it to the NFL for some time and considers the invitation to be a stepping stone that will lead to the NFL.
Both Loffler and Davis had outstanding seasons with the Thunderbirds, and they also played Division I football in the United States, which is probably how they got noticed by the Giants.
Van Gylswyck has been on the radar of a few teams for a while, but his performance at the Vanier Cup title game, which helped UBC win the title, is what got him the invitation to try out for the Giants. His ability to make field goals under immense pressure is something that will interest other NFL teams if he doesn’t make the Giants roster this season.
Canadian University football players usually don’t get a lot of attention from NFL teams because there are so many great football players in the United States, who play against top competition, while Canadians are more into hockey and their football players don’t face the type of competition they would face in the United States.
Recently, pro scouts have started looking up north for talent because the sport is growing bigger in Canada. The Giants in particular have made it a habit to scout Canadian players, part of which is due to their General Manager, who is from Toronto.
Last season, the Giants invited 11 Canadian players to try out for the team.
Blake Nill, the head coach of the UBC team, believes that his players will excel this weekend as long as they aren’t intimidated by the other players.
Nill said that the fact that there is a lot of money at stake will bring out the best in all the players that are invited to the mini-camp. He also acknowledged that his players will probably be facing the toughest competition they have faced in their careers, which might cause them to be intimidated.
The rookie mini-camp starts on Thursday and ends on Saturday.