The Giants on Thursday signed Jerome Lane Jr., a rookie receiver from Akron whose father, Jerome Lane, was the definition of an impact player as a backboard-shattering basketball star at the University of Pittsburgh.
The football-playing son took the roster spot that belonged to Jalen Williams of UMass, another rookie receiver, who was waived. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Lane was with the Colts for two weeks in early May. He played three seasons at Akron, starting out as a linebacker and then making the rare switch to receiver for his final two years. In his two seasons (25 games) on offense, Lane caught 101 passes for 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns.
On Jan. 25, 1988, his father prompted national attention after a fast-break dunk in a game against Providence at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House resulted in a shattered backboard, with ESPN’s Bill Raftery making his now-legendary “Send it in, Jerome!’’ call on the telecast. Jerome Lane was an NBA first-round pick of the Nuggets in 1988 and played five years in the NBA.