New TE emulates ex-Giants reserve

It is not uncommon to study a player you want to emulate. Still, it is quite astonishing to hear Rhett Ellison, the newly signed Giants tight end, say, “In college all I watched was Bear Pascoe film.’’

Pascoe is a fairly nondescript tight end who played for the Giants from 2009 to 2013 and earned a Super Bowl ring as a blocker, part-time fullback and, on rare occasions, a pass-catcher. Those are the football traits Ellison displayed in his five seasons with the Vikings and why the Giants gave him a four-year, $18 million contract.

Ellison came out of USC in 2012 and was hoping the Giants would take him in the NFL Draft.

“They had just won the Super Bowl, so that was like my dream team,’’ Ellison said Friday. “I watched a lot of New York Giants tight end stuff, and they flew me out, so I was really hoping to come here, but it didn’t work out, and for the best, because I’m here now. I can’t believe it’s actually happening.’’

Ellison was selected in the fourth round by the Vikings.

“Rhett is a versatile, hardnosed player who we feel is one of the best blocking tight ends in the league,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “He also has good hands and is a very capable receiver in the pass game.”

At USC, an assistant coach, John Baxter, had worked with Pascoe at Fresno State, and Baxter told Ellison all about Pascoe.

“I would be like, ‘ Who is this guy?’ [and] then I figured out he was with the Giants,’’ Ellison said. “I asked for the film and checked it out and he did exactly what I did.’’

The Redskins lead the league in Giants antagonists. On Friday the Redskins signed receiver Terrelle Pryor to a one-year, $8 million deal. Janoris Jenkins ripped Pryor after he caught six passes for 131 yards in a 27-13 Giants victory in late November took to Twitter to call Pryor a “s--t eater .”