KNOW ODELL WELL
Odell Beckham Jr. has never had a relationship with a position coach quite like this one. Tyke Tolbert, the Giants’ new wide receivers coach, knows him in a way few do.
“I held him as a baby outside the dorm [at LSU],” Tolbert recalled with a laugh on Wednesday.
Tolbert played with Beckham’s father, Odell Beckham Sr., at LSU, and also knew his mother, Heather Van Norman, well while in college. Now, a few decades later, he gets to coach their son.
“It makes me feel old,” Tolbert joked.
Tolbert, 50, has remained in contact with the family over the years, though he didn’t get to see Beckham play at all in high school. He did make sure to watch him every weekend in college at his alma mater, had previously met him a few times, and believes the prior relationship has enabled them to develop a bond fast.
“That helped obviously,” he said. “It helped me have an immediate connection with him. I’ve played with his dad, went to school with his mom, now [I’m coaching] him. That made the transition a little easier.”
It won’t prevent Tolbert from getting on Beckham, either.
“It makes it easier [to yell at him],” he joked.
After watching Beckham from afar, Tolbert has gotten to see the three-time Pro Bowler, and arguably the best receiver in the game, up close. Tolbert echoed firstyear head coach Pat Shurmur in raving about Beckham’s intangibles. Of course, the athletic gifts stand out — from his game-breaking speed to impeccable hands to precise route-running — but Tolbert has been most impressed wth Beckham’s approach. He’s frequently talking about the game with teammates, discussing different techniques and philosophies, learning how he can improve and continue to develop into an even better player.
“[That’s] what the great ones do,” Tolbert said. “They sit back and they not only do it on the field, but when they’re off the field, they look at somebody else, see how they can do this better, that better.”
Tolbert has coached wide receivers since breaking into the NFL as an assistant coach with the Cardinals in 2003. After stints with the Bills and Panthers, he spent the past six years with the Broncos, helping develop Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, and was part of Denver’s Super Bowl 50 championship. Despite the lack of an established No. 3 receiver — Roger Lewis and newcomer Cody Latimer are battling for that spot — Tolbert said he is excited about this group, particularly the versatility he sees in it.
When the new staff took over, Tolbert didn’t assign the receivers positions. He wanted them to learn the new offensive scheme first, so by the time spring workouts began, they would be comfortable rotating between differ- ent spots. As such, over the first week of camp, Beckham and Sterling Shepard have seen time out wide and in the slot, which should only make them more potent — and complicate matters when a defense wants to use its best cornerback to shadow Beckham.
“It’s an awesome advantage to have,” Tolbert said. “When you line up in one spot all the time, it makes it easy for the defense. We try to make it as difficult as possible.”