A LOT TO LOVE
Giants may have gotten a steal with 4th-rounder out of Notre Dame
Todd Lyght says Julian Love can be “a 10-year pro.”
Lyght would know. He was one himself. That was before he coached Love at Notre Dame and before the Giants snagged Love in the fourth round in maybe their biggest steal of this draft.
“Outstanding football player, high football intelligence, very instinctive,” Lyght, 50, Notre Dame’s defensive backs coach and a 12-year NFL veteran, told the Daily News in a recent phone interview. “The thing I like about projecting Julian to the NFL is his position versatility.
“Coming into New York in his first year, I see him playing the nickel spot, a little outside
corner and can see him playing safety, too,” added Lyght, the Eagles’ assistant DBs coach in 2013-14. “I worked with a couple of DBs kind of similar to Julian when I was in Philadelphia: one was Patrick Chung and one was Malcolm Jenkins. Very versatile.”
Love, 21, was a standout on both sides of the ball in high school, leading Nazareth Academy to back-to-back Illinois state championships in 2014 and 2015.
He hadn’t really played outside corner before college, mostly safety. At Notre Dame, though, he became an irreplaceable starter at outside corner, while also chipping in at nickel and safety.
He is committed to being part of the Giants’ solution, too.
“My freshman year (2016) I got to Notre Dame we were 4-8, then last year we were 12-1 in the playoff,” Love told the Daily News at rookie mini-camp. “I want to be a part of getting the Giants back to where we belong, as well.”
Lyght said Love’s consistency in character and work habits are what will ensure he has a long NFL career.
“He’s professional,” Lyght said. “In college sometimes we have to deal with kids being on lists. Maybe they didn’t go to class or to study hall. At his time at N.D., Julian was never on any list.
“He’s super consistent,” added Lyght, who worked with Pat Shurmur on Chip Kelly’s 201314 Eagles staff. “Coach Shurmur does an unbelievable job of bringing the right type of guys in and maintaining culture. Julian is gonna bring really good, positive energy to that locker room. He’s a phenomenal teammate, great learner. It’s gonna be very exciting to see how he takes off at the highest level.”
Another advantage Love has is that New York should not be too big for him. He started 34 games and appeared in 38 in three years at Notre Dame, facing national scrutiny from the day he walked in the door in South Bend.
He finished setting a school record with 44 pass breakups and was one of three finalists for the 2018 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back. He totaled 176 tackles and five interceptions, returning two for touchdowns.
“He can run, cover and tackle,” said Lyght, a Super Bowl XXXIV champion with the 1999 St. Louis Rams who recorded an interception in the NFC Championship Game against the Bucs.
The Giants drafted three corners, including Love, because they have a major need in the secondary. Love will have an
opportunity to play right away if he shows well this summer.
Shurmur called Love “more of an inside player, safety-type or interior-type guy who can play the outside.” The coaching staff then moved Love around a lot in rookie minicamp.
“Wherever they need me, I will play,” Love said on Saturday after Friday’s first practice. “Working on some nickel, a little safety and a little corner. Just trying to be able to do it all at this point.”
The lingering question, though, is why a player of Love’s caliber fell down the draft board to the Giants’ 108th overall pick. Love is not the fastest D-back, but neither is the Giants’ firstround pick, Deandre Baker from Georgia.
Unanswered questions about how Love’s decorated college career ended may have left a box unchecked on some NFL scouting reports.
In this year’s Cotton Bowl against Clemson, undefeated Notre Dame was going toe-totoe with the eventual national champions until Love left with an undisclosed injury in a 3-3 tie.
The Tigers immediately struck for three second-quarter touchdowns passes with Love sidelined and banged-up backup Donte Vaughn in as his replacement. The score was 23-3 by halftime and the rout was on.
Despite the fact that Love never had his helmet taken away as he stood on the sidelines, Lyght said he was going through the concussion protocol.
“For him to go through the protocol, man up and play phenomenal in the second half, tells you a lot about a person,” Lyght said.
Love said after the Giants drafted him that he regrets how his Notre Dame career ended and “I’m carrying that with me.” Clemson’s outburst in Love’s absence sure seemed to reflect his high value to the Notre Dame defense.
“It really talks in terms of what his production was for us,” the coach said.
This is why Lyght expects “big things” from Love in the NFL. The Giants do, too.