GIANTS 101

On draft night the New York Giants were able to add to their roster what many experts believed to be one of the best players available in the draft and the best defensive back outside of Patrick Peterson in Prince Amukamara. It was to the surprise of many that a player of that caliber would slip to the 19th selection of the draft. The Nebraska product was almost a sure bet to be off the board within the top 10 selections. The Giants owe each team that participated in the “overrated Quarterback sweepstakes” that took place early in the first round for Amukamara still being available when it came time for them to pick.

Being such a highly touted prospect the expectations for a guy like Amukamara are fairly great, as a result it is presumed that Amukamara will be around for a quite some time. With that being said the purpose of this article is to give a little insight into Amukamara who definitely possesses some intrigue.

First off the name Prince is far from just a cool moniker but a title that goes well beyond Amukamara. The Amukamara’s are originally from Nigeria. It is a tradition to name the first son in each family “Prince”. Ironically Romanus and Christy Amukamara had six children and Prince is the lone boy. Prince’s five sisters are named Princess, Promise, Peace, Precious, and Passionate. His grandfather was the king of their native village or the chief of Awo-Omamma in the Imo state of Nigeria. His father was the successor to the throne which makes Prince next in line to be the king of the village.

Highly competitive athletics is in the bloodlines of the newest Giants cornerback. His mother Christy competed in the 1984 Olympics in track and field and his sister Precious also runs track for Grand Canyon State University. The family athleticism made a seamless transition to Amukamara. The “Prince” will bring a winning attitude to the Giants having been a part of three state basketball champion teams, while earning the state crown in the 100 and 200 meter dashes during his time at Apollo high school in Glendale Arizona.

As for the football field, offense was Amukamara’s forte. Although he played both sides of the ball, Amukamara was a dominant running back who amassed 2,106 yards and 24 touchdowns during his senior campaign. The Arizona republic newspaper named him their player of the year in addition to being named first-team class 4A in the state of Arizona. He was a three star recruit whose talents at running back were being sought by programs such as Colorado, Fresno State, Nevada, Oregon State, UNLV and UTEP before he ultimately chose Nebraska to play his collegiate football.

Upon his arrival to cornhusker nation things were not the way Amukamara presumed they would be. He found himself as a cornerback on the depth chart and felt duped. He was told my then Head Coach Bill Callahan and his staff that he would play both sides of the ball but that was just to prevent Amukamara from transferring from the program. That season Callahan was ousted and in came Bo Pelini and his guys. Pelini put the Amukamara at ease about playing defensive back and things sky rocketed from that moment forward. In hindsight it may have been the best thing to happen to him.

Amukamara emerged onto the national scene during his junior season in 2009. He had 64 tackles, 38 of which were solo in addition to five interceptions. The “Prince” had made it big time. Deciding to return for his senior season he was now on the national radar. He finished his senior season with 59 tackles 36 of them solo. Although he had no interceptions he helped Nebraska to become the fifth best team in pass efficiency defense. This is probably due to Amukamara putting fear in opposing offenses, thus shutting down one side of the field.

All his on-field accomplishments garnered him 2010 first-team-all American, Big 12 defensive player of the year, first team Big 12 and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award. His biggest achievement may be the 2010 Brook Berringer Citizenship award for the entirety of his volunteer and outreach work during his time in Nebraska.

So there you have it, I hope you feel like you know and understand the “Prince” a little better. Now all we need is the 8th circuit court to release the shackles off football so we can see what Amukamara is made of. I know one thing is for sure opposing wide outs will not treat the “Prince” like royalty on the gridiron, and could care less that he will one day have the sovereignty of a village in Nigeria.

Note:

• Do not forget the live fan chat with Prince Amukamara tonight at 7:00 PM EDT.

Barshay Graves is a student at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and an acting intern at Giants 101.

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