Dwayne Hendricks Not Afraid To Compete, Impressing Coaches

Dwayne Hendricks isn’t one to shy away from competition. It’s the reason he chose to play at the University of Miami. It’s the reason he’s hung around the Giants organization, being waived and signed again four times since 2009. It’s also the reason Tom Coughlin tells anyone going against the defensive tackle to watch out.

“If you’re foolish enough to think that he’s not going to make you look bad, you’re ridiculous,” were his exact words after Sunday’s practice, the first one back at camp since the preseason opener.

At the time, Coughlin was talking about how players translated practice reps into game action. Hendricks, who has spent most of his career on the practice squad (solely with the Giants), did exactly that and notched two sacks against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“He goes out and plays the game just like he practices,” Coughlin concluded. “He did very well for himself.”

Hendricks wasn’t aware of his coach’s comments, but knew he had a solid enough performance to get his name out there.

“It’s always good to make a name for yourself,” he said on Monday. “Anytime I can go out there and show them I can get the job done, I think it only raises my stock and the value that I have.”

Signed to the active roster for a little longer than a month last season, Hendricks made his only NFL appearance in Week 9 against the Patriots. And at a deep position along a talented defensive line, he doesn’t know when the next time will be.

For the time being, all he can do is compete.

“You have to like to compete,” Hendricks, a Millville (N.J.) native, said. “I didn’t go to Miami not to compete. I went there to compete, and it’s the same here. You come here, you want to compete. It’s only going to bring the best out of you. If you go somewhere where you’re not really competing, how can you get the best out of yourself?”


(giants.com)