By WFAN.com
If there was a theme on the first day of the Giants' rookie minicamp Friday, it was that these youngsters are an unselfish bunch.
There was Saquon Barkely, the highly touted second overall pick in last month's draft, telling reporters he will strive to be an all-around player.
"I view myself as more than a running back," the former Penn State star said at the Giants' practice facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey. "I'm not a guy that you just line up in the backfield and is just going to bang his head, bang his head, bang his head. I'm a guy that's willing to do anything for the team, whether it be a kick returner, whether it be a punt returner, whether it be running down on kickoffs, whether it's line up in the slot, whether it's run a dummy play, a fake play. Whatever it takes."
And while he plays a different position, guard Will Hernandez, the team's second-round pick, echoed that sentiment.
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"I'll play kicker if the coaches asked me to," said Hernandez, who signed his contract Friday.
For the record, Hernandez will primarily play left guard but take some snaps at right guard, coach Pat Shurmur said.
Barkley, of course, was the star attraction. General manager Dave Gettleman has suggested Barkley has Hall of Fame potential. Now he can begin trying to live up to those lofty expectations.
When asked what he wanted to prove at minicamp, Barkley said: "That I'm a hardworker, that I'm willing to learn, I'm coachable. Obviously it's a new system for me and for everyone. It's going to be a little different. Everyone will have struggles, but I'm willing to learn, and I'm coachable."
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Shurmur said he believes Barkley is willing to put in the work to achieve greatness.
"I'm certainly high on Saquon, but that goes back to let's train him the right way," the coach said. "He's a member of this team. If you ask him, he'll tell you he wants to learn what he's doing and compete at a high level and regardless of what my expectations are for him, he has to come out here and train and do it. And that's what's really cool about him is he has that mindset."
In addition to signing Hernandez, the Giants announced they have also signed linebacker Lorenzo Carter, a third-round pick out of Georgia; quarterback Kyle Lauletta, a fourth-rounder from Richmond; and 11 undrafted free agents.
