Rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made an eye-catching, one-handed grab of a kickoff rocketing at him during Wednesday’s training camp practice but that’s about all the first-round pick did.
Beckham didn’t participate in last month’s mini-camp because of a slight hamstring strain, and he tweaked the same injury in the first practice of his first NFL training camp. That made Beckham, the first-round pick from LSU, mostly a spectator on Day Two.
Clearly, this frustrates coach Tom Coughlin. The Giants have big plans for Beckham but his balky hamstring has slowed his progress. This type of problem often has a tendency to linger, especially with a speed receiver with a track background.
“Obviously there’s some concern about that,’’ general manager Jerry Reese said.
Reese defended the hiring of David Tyree as the Giants new director of player development.
Tyree, a former Giants receiver and Super Bowl hero, in 2011 took a strong public stance against homosexuals and gay marriage, prompting the Human Rights Campaign to blast the Giants for the hiring.
Reese said the team did its due diligence and Tyree is qualified for the job.
“I believe everybody should be treated equal, I believe everybody should be treated fairly,’’ Reese said. “I believe everybody should have an opinion to what they want to say and most of all I believe I should mind my own business and try to keep the plank out of my own eye, that’s what I believe the most.’’
LB Jameel McClain came out of the first practice with a sore left foot but was back on the field on Wednesday. … Brandon Mosley returned to the starting right guard spot a day after leaving practice early with an upset stomach. John Jerry also got some reps as the starting right guard.
It was another hot afternoon, and it certainly was an unusual sight to see the entire team take a break halfway through practice to go inside into the field house to cool off and rehydrate.
“We had breeze and we had cloud cover, but I said I was going to do it, so I went ahead and did it,” Coughlin said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. It gives them the sense of second half, first half, gives them an opportunity to cool a little bit and come back and go.’’
Will Beatty continues to get work at left tackle, progressing more quickly coming off a broken leg than Coughlin envisioned. “He’s doing a little bit more, and that’s encouraging,’’ Coughlin said. “I’m giving him a lot of credit for this. He’s not overdoing it, but he’s doing more than was expected. I hope he is able to continue to work his way back once we put pads on. I do know he feels he has to be stronger, but that’s normal.’’
There are no physical restrictions for RB David Wilson coming off neck surgery, but Coughlin said he may slow him down from time to time. “He’s a highly conditioned athlete, he can run and run and run,’’ Coughlin said. “I don’t think today was quite as effective as yesterday, but he was out there plugging away.’’
CB Walter Thurmond arrived with a reputation for tight coverage working with the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom secondary. He showed it when he blanketed Rueben Randle on a deep route and knocked away a slightly underthrown pass from Eli Manning.
WR Marcus Harris, on the practice squad last season, received a good-luck tweet from none other than NBA Hall of Famer Walt Frazier.
Harris and Julian Talley, another young receiver trying for a roster spot, met Frazier at an event at Frazier’s Hell’s Kitchen restaurant and the former Knicks legend had kept in touch.
“I felt kind of special about that, I’m not going to lie,’’ Harris said.
It was a good day for the tight ends. Adrien Robinson came up with a few solid catches on a day when general manager Jerry Reese likened him to Julius Thomas, the Broncos tight end who had one catch in his first two seasons then erupted for 65 last year for the Broncos.
Rookie S C.J. Barnett from Ohio State has been around the ball the first two days. He nearly picked off a Ryan Nassib pass in a 7-on-7 drill, and in the team period he did intercept Nassib – who seemed to slip while throwing – for what would have been a pick-six.
Kerry Wynn, a rookie defensive end from Richmond, had a forceful run stop for a loss on a carry by Kendall Gaskins.
After a good ball fake, Curtis Painter got what he wanted and spotted TE Larry Donnell running free, but Painter’s pass was too short and fell incomplete.
DE Damontre Moore likes to stand out, which is one of the reasons he wears an unusual helmet featuring a black shield that hides his eyes and makes him look menacing. Now the Giants hope he is a menace on the field.
“I really like the way it looks,’’ Moore said of his face mask. “I just like being different and unique. I figure my fashion style is a little off the top, so I figure that face mask represents me pretty well. At the end of the day, it’s not so much about fashion, it’s about going out and playing. I guess fits in with what they say: ‘You look good, you feel good you play good.’ ’’