Deonte Banks tried talking trash to Marvin Harrison Jr. during the breakout game of his career as a cornerback at Maryland, but found the Ohio State receiver unwilling to take his bait.
Now it is Banks’ turn to stay quiet. At least until the Giants’ first-round draft pick duplicates his stifling performance against Harrison in an NFL game.
“I’ve got to get in there first,” Banks said at rookie minicamp. “I’ve got to make my mark first.”
Banks didn’t act like big man on campus surrounded by lower draft picks, undrafted free-agent signings and dozens of rookies practicing twice on a tryout basis.
“No ego or nothing,” safety Gervarrius Owens said.
But he recognized during a “real smooth” introduction to the NFL that he will be a good fit for what defensive coordinator Wink Martindale demands of his cornerbacks.
“They play a lot of man, so if you know me, you know how I play man,” the physical Banks said. “It’s just a mentality thing. I just love doing it.”
At this time last year, Banks wasn’t even on the Giants’ radar, general manager Joe Schoen admitted. Banks was coming off a shoulder surgery that ended his 2021 season at Maryland after two games.
“I always thought this was possible,” Banks said. “Actually, if I didn’t get injured, I would have entered [the 2022 draft]. But everything worked out in my favor, I feel like. I graduated, too.”
Banks��� first-round status was solidified during a superior showing at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he had scouts buzzing when he held Ohio State’s Harrison — who would’ve been the first receiver picked in the 2023 class had he been eligible — to five catches for 68 yards on Nov. 19.
Banks will begin competing for a starting job when the rookies mix with the veterans this week.
“I feel like there’s no pressure on me,” Banks said. “I’m just ready to work.”
Sixth-round pick Tre Hawkins doesn’t lack confidence even though he wasn’t certain he would be drafted.
Is the cornerback a good fit for the Giants’ scheme?
“I could see myself playing anywhere in the NFL,” he said. “I can fit any scheme.”
Is the jump from a non-Power Five school like Old Dominion to the NFL a concern?
“Randy Moss, where did he go?” Hawkins said. “He went to Marshall. There’s greats everywhere, so level of competition isn’t too much of a difference.”
Is there a cornerback after whom he models his game?
“I’ve been told — kind of making comparisons — Jalen Ramsey, Patrick Surtain, Jimmy Smith, people who kind of got my size and my traits,” he said, mentioning three of the best in the last decade. “They all come down inside with their own thing. None of them are scared, either.”
Owens, who was selected No. 254 out of 259 picks, played 361 career snaps on special teams (punt, field goal and punt block/return) at Houston, where Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey’s son, Trent, is a tight end.
The elder McGaughey played safety at Houston — just like Owens — but they hadn’t really had a conversation until this weekend.
“I had some people definitely tell me he was up here,” Owens said. “He came over there after practice and talked to me, just letting me know everything.”
Head coach Brian Daboll left open the possibility that receiver Jalin Hyatt also will be the punt returner when the full team comes together.
“Absolutely,” Daboll said. “We’ll put as many guys back there as we can to figure that one out.”