Former Rebels Jerry, Oher expect big seasons
Former Ole Miss offensive lineman John Jerry needed a break after spending part of his summer working out in Arizona in preparation for training camp.
The New York Giants offensive guard found it Saturday helping former Ole Miss players Michael Oher and Jamarca Sanford run a camp that drew around 100 gradeschool children at South Panola before Jerry flew to New York on Monday. The Giants start camp Thursday.
“Having fun getting my mind off football for a little bit,” said Jerry, who graduated from South Panola in 2005. “It means a lot to have this opportunity to come back to where you’re from and give back. It’s a big deal. It’s kind of fun to come back home and get that humbling experience before you get ready to go embark on a journey.”
Jerry spent more than eight weeks training at LeCharles Bentley’s O-Line Performance camp, work that should help him become the Giants’ starting right guard this season. The former third-round pick has started 69 games, including eight last year, as he enters his seventh NFL season.
“We know he can play at a high enough level to be an NFL starter,” Bentley told NJ Advance Media of Jerry, a two-time All-SEC award winner who started 46 games at Ole Miss. “With that being said, there has always been more left on the table. This year, I believe, will be a bit unique because I believe you will begin to see the true potential he’s always had throughout his career.”
Jerry joins Oher as former Ole Miss offensive linemen who figure to start full-time this season, Oher doing so at left tackle with the Carolina Panthers. The Giants went 6-10 last fall, missing the playoffs, while Oher’s Panthers won the NFC Championship but lost in the Super Bowl.
Oher believes the Panthers are in position for another excellent season.
“Just stay motivated, try to stay hungry,” said Oher, who has started 107 games in his first seven seasons and was a first-round pick in 2009. “We got a lot of pieces coming back. We just got to build off it and continue to get better. You can always get better.
“We don’t look at it like (the Panthers’ 15-1 regularseason record and first Super Bowl appearance since 2003 are) unbelievable or anything like that. At the end of the day, you’ve got to win the last game. That’s all that matters.”
Oher was released by the Tennessee Titans in 2014 after he struggled with injuries but signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Panthers before their Super Bowl run. They rewarded him in the offseason with a threeyear extension worth a reported $21.6 million through 2019.
“In the NFL, it’s year by year, I don’t care what contract you signed,” Oher said. “But it’s great that those guys believe in me and gave me an extra opportunity. It’s a great organization. I love everything about it, from the top to the bottom. Very grateful.”
Jerry hopes the Giants experience the same success Oher’s Panthers did last season, something that’ll likely come down to the right arm of quarterback Eli Manning, a former Rebel and someone who Jerry said “makes it very easy” for his offensive linemen.
“You always have high expectations, but at the end of the day you never know how it goes,” Jerry said. “Looking forward to getting to camp and get back in the groove with the guys and get our camaraderie back. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”