HEADLINE

Giants CB Ballentine practices a month after getting shot

Field Level Media

May 28, 2019 at 8:03 pm.

One month after suffering a gunshot wound on the day he was drafted, New York Giants rookie cornerback Corey Ballentine took part in team drills Tuesday for the first time.

Ballentine, a sixth-round pick of the Giants out of Washburn University, participated in 11-on-11 drills while working with the third-team defense. He was involved in individual drills during last week’s organized team activities.

“He’s doing what he can do,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said Tuesday. “Last week he did a little bit more of individual work and today he got his first reps in team work. I will have to go back in and watch, but he looked good moving around. He is getting better each day.”

Ballentine was shot in the backside on April 28 outside of an off-campus party in Topeka, Kan., that claimed the life of Washburn teammate Dwane Simmons.

Ballentine, whose 180th overall selection was the highest in Washburn history, was just the sixth player from the Division II program to be drafted. He was one of only three D-II players selected to the 2019 Senior Bowl.

At Washburn from 2015-18, he finished with 186 tackles (113 solo), 10 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and five interceptions. He won the 2018 Cliff Harris Award that goes to the small college defensive player of the year.

He missed New York’s rookie minicamp from May 3-5. The Giants encouraged him to remain in Kansas to mourn the loss of his best friend, whose funeral took place on May 4.

Also on Tuesday, Shurmur addressed the quarterback situation with rookie Daniel Jones, the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft out of Duke, coming into a possible faceoff with veteran Eli Manning.

“I think he is competing and getting better every day,” Shurmur said of Jones. “He is like every player on the team. They are getting ready to play Week 1. If they are in there, great. If not, they will keep working and continuing to get better. I think Daniel’s approach, he is here all the time just like all the other quarterbacks. He is doing everything in his power to get right.”

Regarding Manning’s impact on Jones, Shurmur said, “I think it is a healthy quarterback room. There is a lot of conversation with regard to that. Yes, I see a good room and all the guys working well together and trying to help each other.”