On April 28, Corey Ballentine was in a Kansas hospital recovering from a gunshot wound and mourning the death of his best friend.
On Tuesday, exactly one month later, he was on the field with the Giants participating in full team reps at an OTA workout. It was the latest step in the return to football for the sixth-round draft pick, a journey that has gone at a respectful pace but also with astonishing speed.
It was just a week ago that Ballentine was not even outdoors with the team during the start of OTAs. Then he started doing some work with trainers, some individual drills, all of which led to Tuesday's debut in 11-on-11 snaps. The cornerback lined up with the third-string defense, his performance unremarkable except for the backstory from the past 30 days.
"He's doing what he can do," Pat Shurmur said. "He looked good moving around and he's getting better each day."
Ballentine stretched and went through drills early in practice and spent most of the workout as a spectator. It wasn't until late in the on-field portion of the event that Ballentine lined up with teammates for the first time.
Ballentine was shot near the campus of Washburn University in Topeka, and he suffered an injury to his glute. His roommate and teammate Dwane Simmons was shot and killed in the same incident. Police said the two football players were innocent victims who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. No arrests have been made.
Ballentine has not spoken publicly since the shooting, which took place just hours after he was drafted.
