There are two things about Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley that probably gave NFL teams pause heading into the 2012 NFL Draft. The first is that he is only 5-foot-10, 170 pounds. The second is that he failed a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Neither of those things, however, stopped the New York Giants from taking Hosley in the third round on Friday night, 94th overall.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin said the organization is willing to take chances on players like Hosley "provided we have enough information about the player to believe that we can work with him and he's willing to overcome whatever issues he's had."
"He knows that's a bad decision that he made and we expect better from him," general manager Jerry Reese said. "We feel like we have a good player in him."
More from Coughlin and Reese after the jump.
Jerry Reese: [Full Transcript]
"We're aware of that, obviously. He's not the first one to have a situation like that. He's a young kid - he's very young. He's 20 years old. He's an early-out junior. He knows that's a bad decision that he made and we expect better from him. We feel like we have a good player in him as well. He's not a big man, but this guy has athletic arrogance. He plays like a big guy. His skill set, years ago, kind of reminds me of Adam ‘Pacman' Jones - he plays kind of like that. He runs in there kind of like a little linebacker. He throws himself in there. He has outstanding cover skills. He's productive. He's an interceptor, he can intercept the ball, so we expect him to be in our nickel packages. And a bonus is that he's a punt returner. ... He has a lot of good qualities that we like."
Tom Coughlin: [Full Transcript]
"This is a guy, very competitive, feisty guy with 12 career interceptions. He's also a punt returner. He's a physical tackler. He is a competitive guy who many times is matched up on the opponent's best receiver. Whether it's the physical aspect of the game, the coming up in run support, the competitiveness in the press position, whether he's playing from off and just playing the ball in the air. This guy does have outstanding hands and has been able to convert that concept into many interceptions. ... also has the potential to be a punt returner. We like him for our special teams aspect also. He's played the gunner. He can play various kickoff coverages, etc., etc. We feel like we can accomplish a lot with this kind of an athlete. He's not the biggest guy in the world. That was discussed. However, we do think he is a competitive, feisty guy and he's one of those people that has not backed down from anybody."
-- The final four rounds of the draft will be held this afternoon.