The New York Giants are seeking a new center this season. They’ll likely give some of the guards on their roster (Ben Bredeson, Shane Lemieux) a crack at the job as well as draft one of the several top prospects in this year’s NFL draft.
In the interim, general manager Joe Schoen isn’t sitting still. Last week, he signed former Pittsburgh Steeler J.C. Hassenauer, a player who was coached by Giants head coach Brian Daboll while the two were at Alabama in 2017.
Daboll knows Hassenauer well and had high praise for him before the National Championship Game that season.
“He’s a smart, tough guy,” Daboll said, via the Opelika-Auburn News. “To play offensive line you have to have both of those qualities. You have to be smart and you have to be tough.
“You’ve got to be able to work well with the guys that are beside you and handle the roles that you need to handle in terms of playing that spot. He’s done a really good job of working all year, whether he was starting or not starting. He’s a good, young professional.”
The Giants’ centers from last season — Jon Feliciano and Nick Gates — are gone. Gates signed with Washington and Feliciano is now in San Francisco.
Hassenauer has the inside track at the job, having played for Daboll in the past, but Daboll and Schoen aren’t about to settle when it comes to the quality of their roster.
