Camps going good

[Lughead]

No Shockey, But Plenty Going On at Camp

 

Still no sign of Jeremy Shockey. But while the candlelight vigil continues in the player parking lot, here are some thoughts from Day 3 of rookie mini-camp, which kicked off this morning outside of Giants Stadium . . .

 

-- RB Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants' seventh-round pick, continues to impress with his speed, hands and cut-back ability. He had "a noticeable morning," according to Tom Coughlin.

 

-- S Michael Johnson, the other seventh-rounder, has "great explosiveness" according to Coughlin, who also watched him in the weight room.

 

-- CB Gerrick McPhearson, a sixth-round pick from 2006 who spent last year on the practice squad, broke up three passes this morning and drew raves from Coughlin. "Certainly he has the speed and size (5-10, 197) you look for at corner. He did make some nice plays and it's good that he did. He looks more in tune with what we're asking him to do."

 

-- Dont rule first-year pro Darcy Johnson out of competition for the backup tight end job. He's matched fifth-rounder Kevin Boss catch for catch at rookie camp. "He has made a noticeable improvement throughout the offseason," Coughlin said.

 

-- Among the other players who Coughlin singled out this morning were three of his draft picks - CB Aaron Ross, WR Steve Smith and T Adam Koets - and TE Michael Matthews, a 6-4, 270-pound free agent out of Georgia Tech (Never mind that Coughlin called him "that Mitchell kid". He still likes him).

 

And, as a bonus, here are a few leftovers from Friday's afternoon session . . .

 

-- K Mark Hickok was the lone kicker in camp because Josh Huston had an appendectomy early last week. Hickok was a shaky 4-for-6 with a strong wind blowing in his face. Huston was here today, but hasn't done any kicking yet.

 

-- DT Jay Alford displayed his ability to get into the backfield, bursting through the line to bust up several running plays.

 

-- Long-shot safety Ryan Glasper had a nice first day. He stepped in front of Boss for an interception, nearly did it again, and drew praise from defensive backs coach Pete Giunta for reading and busting up several running plays.

 

And a few more notes . . .

 

-- Coughlin said the first half of the teams offseason training program drew an average of 62 players per day, with a high of 65.

 

-- Though he declined to name any, Coughlin did say that some of the tryout players impressed him enough this weekend to warrant an invitation to training camp. None of them are quarterbacks.

 

-- WR Willie Idlette (Wake Forest) and WR Tyrone Timmons (Mississippi Valley State) were added to the mini-camp roster on a tryout basis today.