University of Albany's Rafael Nguti Gets NFL NY Giants Minicamp Workout - UAlbany Sports 2009

Raphael Nguti The CFL will have to wait... the Giants want UAlbany's Raphael Nguti.

The mammoth 6-6, 330 lb. offensive lineman was set for a private workout with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian League. That workout was contingent on Nguti not getting an NFL invite.

That invite came today from the team Nguti watches practice all last summer. He'll be in mini-camp with Big Blue all this weekend in New Jersey trying to get a contract that will bring him back to UAlbany's campus in August for training camp.

Nguti, an All-American selection as a senior with the Danes, was seen by just about every NFL team last season. Raphael is represented by National Sports Management of Niskayuna.

Courtesy: Fox23sports

NFL's New York Giants Move Former UAlbany Cornerback Rashad Barksdale to Active Roster

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

East Rutherford, N.J. - The Giants announced on Tuesday, Dec. 30 the addition of two players to their roster in advance of tomorrow’s first practice of the postseason. They signed cornerback Rashad Barksdale, a former University at Albany standout, off their practice squad and signed linebacker Rich Scanlon.

To make room on the roster, the Giants put cornerback Sam Madison on injured reserve and waived linebacker Edmond Miles. Madison broke his right ankle in the third quarter at Minnesota.

Barskdale, 6-0 and 208 pounds, was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 1. He was released on Oct. 21 but re-signed the next day.

In 2007, Barksdale spent the entire season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played in six games and was inactive for the other 10 games. Barksdale finished with nine special teams tackle. He made his NFL debut against Jacksonville on Oct. 7 with one special teams tackle. Barksdale had three tackles vs. Tennessee on Dec. 16 and at the Jets on Dec. 30.

Barksdale joined the NFL as a sixth-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007, the 201st overall selection. He was waived on Sept. 1, 2007 and signed by Kansas City the following day. He is the first player on the Giants’ active roster from the University at Albany, where they have held training camp since 1996.

Barksdale played baseball for two seasons at Albany before joining the football team as a walk-on as a senior in 2006. He started 10 games at cornerback and was credited with 37 tackles (26 solo) and intercepted three passes, including two in the fourth quarter in an upset victory over Delaware. Barksdale was an All-State running back and defensive back at Hudson (N.Y.) High School. He was born on May 11, 1984.

Scanlon, 6-2 and 249 pounds, has played in 40 games – 31 with Kansas City from 2004-06 and nine with Tennessee in 2007. He also played in a postseason game with the Titans last season. Scanlon has never started a game, as most of his playing time has been on special teams, where he has 51 tackles.

Scanlon joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2004. As a rookie he played in six games and had five special teams tackles. He started 11 games for the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europa in 2005, when he led the league with 94 tackles (68 solo). That year, he played all 16 games for the Chiefs, including 13 in which he played on defense. He led the team with 29 special teams tackles and had three tackles on defense. In 2006, Scanlon played in nine games, including seven on defense. He had 10 special teams tackles. He was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury on Dec. 31, 2006.

Scanlon was waived by the Chiefs at the end of training camp in 2007. He signed with the Titans on Oct. 31, 2007 and contributed seven special teams tackles and two fumble recoveries in nine regular season games and two special teams tackles in the Titans’ AFC Wild Card loss at San Dieg0.

Super Bowl Champion N.Y. Giants End Training Camp at UAlbany with Morning Workout

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

The New York Giants concluded their 2008 training camp with an 80-minute morning practice at the University at Albany on Sunday, Aug. 17. The team will play its second preseason game on Monday evening against the Cleveland Browns at Giants Stadium. Head coach Tom Coughlin signed autographs as he left the practice field for the last time this summer with his defending Super Bowl champion squad.

The Giants’ thirteenth camp at UAlbany produced the second-highest attendance total since the NFL team started training in the Capital Region in 1996. More than 44,000 fans attended 19 practice days and 29 practice sessions since camp opened on July 25.

The Giants averaged 2,342 fans per day to break the previous mark of 2,145 that was established over 21 days during 2004. The final attendance total rose 36.6 percent over last summer.

UAlbany will again host training camp in 2009, with a possible extension to be discussed in the future. The Giants’ 14th training camp at the school will be the longest at any location in franchise history. The New York Giants spent thirteen summers at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y. from 1975-87.

New York Giants May Be At UAlbany For Long Haul

Mara says team could train in Albany after '09

When the Giants return to the University at Albany next summer, the trip may not be the farewell tour many once expected.

Though the team is building a state-of-the-art training facility at The Meadowlands and even though the contract between the Giants and UAlbany expires after next summer, the Giants now appear to be leaning toward a future in Albany.

Giants president John Mara said after a practice earlier this week, "There's a pretty good chance that we could come back here after 2009."

Mara added that internal discussions about the camp's future have yet to take place. But as the Giants held their final practice of camp Saturday, officials with both the school and the team cautioned against assuming the 13-year relationship will end next August.

Instead of abandoning the concept of training camp in Albany altogether, the Giants instead may change the model. For instance, the team could spend two weeks in Albany at the beginning of camp before moving operations to the new facility being built in East Rutherford, N.J.

"That's an idea," Mara said. "We haven't really discussed it yet. There are just a lot of positives to coming up here that we might not want to give up."

The camp's 2008 version proved one of the most successful. The Giants, on the heels of a Super Bowl title, drew 43,760 fans, the second-highest total at UAlbany. This marked just the third time more than 40,000 people came through campus.

"It is definitely nice to see that," Mara said. "We've got a great reception from people up here, and believe me, we've noticed."

The Giants' interest extends well beyond fan support. UAlbany offers five practice fields near Western Avenue, locker-room facilities inside SEFCU Arena and a support staff.

Though the team will have four practice fields at its new facility, it might be worthwhile to save the wear and tear on those fields for the regular season, Mara said, and instead beat up UAlbany's fields in the summer.

Moving camp to The Meadowlands also would force the Giants to contract with a hotel to house players. Here, UAlbany provides dormitories.

A camp away from the New York City area also curbs distractions. Keeping players bunked in dormitories on Freedom Quad fosters bonding and focus, players said.

"It gets you into the mind-set of being at training camp," Giants center Shaun O'Hara said. "It's 24 hours of football. You're so busy that distractions are at a minimum already."

Mara said he expects to reach a decision on the future site of camp before next summer. But history shows he need not rush the decision. When the Giants first came to Albany in 1996, they made the announcement in March -- just four months before the start of camp.

Two weeks ago, Mara met with UAlbany athletics director Lee McElroy and interim president George Philip to discuss the more immediate future. At that time, Mara told school officials the Giants planned to return for next summer; the Giants could have terminated the contract at the conclusion of this camp.

Both sides said discussions about long-term plans and another contract may take place as soon as this fall.
"We don't know where we're going after 2009," McElroy said. "I don't have a sense that they have any particular model in mind. Do they want to do the four-week model or do they want to shorten it? We haven't gotten to that stage of the discussion yet."

By PETE IORIZZO, Staff writer
First published: Sunday, August 17, 2008

Former University of Albany Standout Jacob Hobbs Signs with Super Bowl Champion New York Giants

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

East Rutherford, N.J. – The Super Bowl champion New York Giants announced on Monday, May 12 the signing of seven players who attended last week’s rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis, including former University at Albany standout offensive lineman Jacob Hobbs.

Hobbs, at 6-foot-3, and 303 pounds, is the first player signed by the Giants from UAlbany, where they have held training camp since 1996. He was originally signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on May 14, 2007. Hobbs played in four preseason games before he was waived on Sept. 1. In 2006, Hobbs started all 10 UAlbany games at left tackle and was named to the 2006 Football Gazette Mid-Major All-America second team and the All-Northeast Conference first team. Hobbs was a Class AA second-team all-state defensive end at Schenectady High School. He was born on Feb. 17, 1983.

“This feels great and provides me with more motivation,” said Hobbs, who earned three varsity letters and was voted the UAlbany’s top offensive lineman as a senior. “There a lot of people who have supported me and are behind me. They want to see good things come out of this.”

Hobbs joins a list of UAlbany players who have signed as NFL free agents. Andre Coleman (San Diego), Kurt Campbell (Oakland) and Hobbs (Philadelphia) were in training camps last summer. Previously, Geir Gudmundsen (Buffalo), Dan Gmelin (San Diego), Seth Thomas (Carolina) and Matt Caliandro (Carolina) have inked free-agents deals.

The newest Giants, including Hobbs, are defensive tackles Brian Soi of Utah and Nate Robinson of Akron, defensive end Alex Morrow of USC, defensive backs Miguel Scott of North Carolina State and Terrance Stringer of Tuskegee, and long snapper Nick Leeson of Virginia Tech.

University of Albany Takes Pleasure in New York Giants' Journey to Super Bowl XLII

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – The New York Giants are off to their fourth Super Bowl and first since the 2000 season following Sunday’s 23-20 overtime victory over Green Bay in the NFC championship game at ice-cold Lambeau Field. The Giants will meet the AFC champion New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

The Giants have made the University at Albany its summer training camp home since 1996. UAlbany has played host to the second-longest stint of any Giants’ training camp. The National Football League camp annually begins in July and continues for a four-week period and averages more than 31,000 fans per year.

“There is more to coaching than X’s and O’s,” said UAlbany football coach Bob Ford, who has known Giants coach Tom Coughlin for nearly 40 years. “He deserves all the credit for getting his team to play as “one.” I knew him when he played at Syracuse and coached at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). He has great integrity and is a good human being. You are definitely happy for those kinds of people.”

UAlbany dedicated the University’s football practice field in honor of Wellington T. Mara and Preston Robert Tisch, the late co-owners of the New York Giants, in August 2007. Mara and Tisch were instrumental in making UAlbany home to the Giants’ summer training camp.

New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin Speaks to UAlbany Football Team

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin addressed the University at Albany football team following the Great Danes’ morning practice on Friday, Aug. 17. Coughlin, a former college head coach at Boston College and Rochester Institute of Technology, has guided the Giants to back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 1990.

“We don’t have it that hard, we’re in the greatest situation of our lives,” Coughlin said. “You guys are young, you’re representing a great University, you have a great coach. You have a guy that has been there when it was good and been there when it’s been bad.”

Coughlin continued, “You cannot sit on the fence gentleman. You can’t be there when it’s good and then not be there when it’s going bad. That is not part of the brotherhood. That is not loyalty. That’s not what this game is all about. So as you go forward, stick together gentlemen.”

UAlbany will scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 18 during the 9:00 a.m. practice session to end the second week of preseason camp. The Great Danes, who are favored to win this year’s Northeast Conference title, open their schedule at Colgate on Sept. 1.

The Giants conclude their twelfth summer training camp on the UAlbany campus on Aug. 23.

UAlbany & New York Giants Announce Capital District Scholarship Winner and Blood Drive

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – Joe Grassia is the recipient of the Capital District Student Scholarship, sponsored by New York Giants Football, Inc. and the University at Albany, as Vice President and Director of Athletics Lee McElroy announced on Tuesday, July 24. Grassia will be recognized as part of a welcome program at Giants Media Day on Thursday, July 26.

The Giants Media Day program is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. under a tent on the UAlbany campus’ Dutch Quad Field. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin will offer welcome remarks.

Grassia, who will attend UAlbany in the fall and play football for head coach Bob Ford, was twice selected Class A third-team all-state by the New York State Sportswriters Association as a linebacker and defensive end at Mohonasen High School. He was chosen first-team All-Area by the Daily Gazette when he accounted for 75 tackles and three sacks as a senior. A native of Schenectady, N.Y., Grassia also rushed for 350 yards and five touchdowns as a fullback. He was named first-team All-Area by the Albany Times Union as a junior.

Grassia plans to study business administration and play inside linebacker for the Great Danes. His parents are Paul and Patty Grassia. He has one sister, Elvira, and one brother, Paul.

The Capital District Student Scholarship provides Grassia with a monetary award equivalent to the tuition costs of four years at the University at Albany. The Giants are training on the UAlbany campus for the 12th consecutive summer. The first practice sessions will be held on Saturday, July 28 and continue through Thursday, August 23.

GIANTS CAMP BLOOD DRIVE: The New York Giants and UAlbany will team up with the New York Blood Center to conduct a blood drive on the first day of training camp ... A mobile blood center will be located on the east side of UAlbany’s SEFCU Arena, adjacent to the Giants practice fields, from 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 28 ... Each day, New York Blood Center must collect 2,000 units of lifesaving blood to treat patients in hospitals across New York and New Jersey ... Donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good health ... For more information, visit their Web site, www.nybloodcenter.org ...

TRAINING CAMP NOTES: Giants training camp parking passes are available at UAlbany’s Athletic Merchandise Store, located in the SEFCU Arena Lobby ... An all-session training camp parking pass is $15.00 ... Dutch Quad Lot is the primary parking facility for the public ... The training camp schedule can be accessed through www.giants.com or www.ualbanysports.com ... The Giants Fan Information Line (518-442-7369) provides general and ticket information, an updated daily schedule, and directions to the UAlbany campus .