Five players with Alabama football roots are members of the New York Giants’ top 100 players, a list compiled to celebrate the NFL franchise’s 100th season, which kicks off on Sunday.
A panel of football personnel and media members chose the 100-player list, and the Giants completed the countdown by releasing the top 10 on Tuesday.
Players from Alabama high schools and colleges on the list included:
· Defensive end Justin Tuck (Central-Coosa) ranked No. 30. Tuck spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Giants and recorded 60.5 regular-season and 5.5 playoff sacks with New York. He was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2008 and played for two Super Bowl-winning teams for the Giants.
· Defensive end Osi Umenyiora (Auburn High School, Troy) ranked No. 32. Umenyiora spent his first 10 NFL seasons with the Giants and recorded 75 regular-season and 5.5 playoff sacks with New York. He was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2005 and played for two Super Bowl-winning teams for the Giants.
· Running back Brandon Jacobs (Auburn) ranked No. 69. Jacobs played eight of his nine NFL seasons with the Giants. He ran for 5,087 yards and 60 touchdowns in 107 regular-season games and 461 yards and four touchdowns in 11 playoff games for New York. Jacobs played on two Super Bowl-winning teams for the Giants.
· Tight end Howard Cross (New Hope, Alabama) ranked No. 88. Cross spent his entire 12-year NFL career with the Giants. He had 201 receptions for 2,194 yards and 17 touchdowns in 207 regular-season games and 10 receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown in 10 playoff games with New York. The Giants won the Super Bowl to cap the 1990 season, which was Cross’ second in the NFL.
· Kicker Lawrence Tynes (Troy) ranked No. 91. Tynes kicked for the Giants for six seasons, including two Super Bowl winners as he made 13-of-17 field-goal attempts and 20-of-20 extra-point tries in nine postseason games with New York. Tynes scored 586 points in regular-season play for the Giants.
Lawrence Taylor was selected as the No. 1 player in New York Giants history, followed (in order) by Roosevelt Brown, Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Michael Strahan, Emlen Tunnell, Harry Carson, Eli Manning, Sam Huff and Andy Robustelli in the top 10.
