Feisty rook OL draws raves from vet Vernon
Teammates have reacted differently to Will Hernandez’s refusal to back down.
Damon Harrison responded angrily, with punches and by swinging a helmet at the second-round pick’s head in a minicamp fight last month. Oliver Vernon, though, had a far different reaction to Hernandez’s feisty attitude.
The defensive end turned outside linebacker loved it.
“His demeanor is what you look for in an offensive lineman,” Vernon said Wednesday as the Giants’ veterans reported for the start of training camp. “They have to have a different mentality and I see that in him. I like him.
“You appreciate stuff like that because you are not supposed to be good and jolly playing offensive or defensive line. You are supposed to have a little edge to you, a little attitude. It’s refreshing when you see a young cat come into the league with that. I’m looking forward to seeing him play.”
Hernandez, a 6- foot -2, 335-pound bruiser projected to start at left guard, lived up to the “cranky” demeanor general manager Dave Gettleman used to describe the lineman out of UTEP. Hernandez got into it with linebacker B.J. Goodson in his first NFL spring practice and there was the fight with Harrison. Eli Manning previously said Hernandez “has already been in five fights. I love it.’’
Unprompted, Vernon raved about Hernandez, and the impact he believes the physical lineman can make for a unit that has struggled mightily in recent years. He called the selection “a very good pick I feel like.”
“You can tell,” Vernon said, when asked why he’s conf ident Hernandez will be a quality NFL player. “I have been around a little while so I can tell when someone comes in and [can make a difference].”
Hernandez is one part of a revamped l i ne the Giants hope can play well enough to give Manning enough time so the skill position players, like Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Sterl i ng Shepard and Odell Beckham Jr., can thrive. Ereck Flowers is moving over to right tackle, replaced on the left side by Nate Solder, the former Patriot standout who was signed to a four-year, $62 million deal with $34.8 million guaranteed in the offseason. Patrick Omameh, who stared 13 games for the Jaguars last year, was also added to start at right guard.
“It seems l i ke those g uys have great communication as far as playing together — that’s what you need on the offensive line,” Vernon said. “They are only as good as how good they work together. I was impressed with them not really making any mistakes [in the spring] that I noticed. I feel like having Nate Solder will help out tremendously and they are doing a lot of good things.”