'Football guy' Colton Hood realizing his childhood dream with New York Giants
· Yahoo Sports
New York Giants second-round pick Colton Hood is ready to take on the world. He's always aimed high, and all of his life, he has had one great desire -- to become an NFL player.
The Tennessee cornerback, selected by the Giants with the 37th pick in this 2026 NFL draft on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, was in the team's facility on Saturday for his introductory press conference. He told reporters that he has trained for this moment since he was a young boy.
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"Probably running hills," Hood said when asked what the hardest thing he did as a kid. "That was pretty hard. My dad, since I was like nine years old, used to make us get up at 6:00 in the morning and go run hills. Also, he made us run like 20-something 200s on the track. That was pretty hard. With steel-toed boots, so that was pretty hard."
The nephew of former NFL cornerback Roderick Hood, who played under John Harbaugh with the Philadelphia Eagles, and trained All-Pro Patrick Peterson during his time in Arizona, has a long list of esteemed players he names as influences.
"My uncle played 10 years in the league, and he trained Patrick Peterson when he was with the Arizona Cardinals," Hood said. "So, yeah, Pat P is a big one, someone I looked up to since I was 13, 14 years old. Someone I always watched. I would also say Pat Surtain, Darrelle Revis, Jaycee Horn -- all those guys are great man-to-man lockdown corners, and they also go get the ball. Those are some of the main guys."
But it was his Uncle Rod and father who got the most credit for getting him to the NFL.
"I learned everything from him, like him and my dad, just about football. My uncle to the more technical side of playing the position, playing corner, he taught me almost everything I know about it. Definitely somebody I look up to, somebody who I still go to to this day if I need any advice about the position," he said.
Hood is ecstatic to be with the Giants and Harbaugh.
"I've been dreaming about this since I was six years old, looking at my ceiling, dreaming about playing in the NFL. To get to play for such a storied franchise as the Giants in this great city of New York is just something that even I couldn't have dreamed of. Just being able to be here in this moment is amazing and definitely something that I'm grateful for and I'm going to be appreciative of," he said.
Asked about who his favorite Giants players were, Hood was ready.
"You want me to name them all? Michael Strahan, Eli Manning, Odell Beckham, Lawrence Taylor -- I mean, like there's so many players that have come here, did the right thing, and the city loves them for it," Hood. "I'm a football guy. I'm big on football. That's all I know. That's all I do. Yeah, I love this franchise, and I'm glad to be a part of it."
That's music to the ears of the Giants and their fans.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: 'Football guy' Colton Hood realizing his childhood dream with Giants