Andre Williams took the handoff from Eli Manning and thought he saw daylight around the left end. Suddenly, there was darkness as the rookie running back was swallowed at the line of scrimmage by rookie linebacker Devon Kennard. “There ya go! There ya go!” shouted one of the Giants defensive coaches.
It was another impressive play by Kennard, the fifth-round draft pick from USC who is making the most of the absence of Jon Beason, who broke his foot during offseason training drills and may miss the entire preseason.
Once healthy, Beason will return to the starting lineup at middle linebacker, now being manned by Jameel McClain, who will shift to strong-side linebacker, where Kennard is now starting. There’s no need to rush Beason’s return, considering Kennard is making the Giants feel they’ve gotten a keeper with their second-to-last pick in April’s draft.
On Wednesday, coach Tom Coughlin offered about as good a compliment as any rookie could receive this early in training camp:
“He appears to be one of those guys that’s a football player,” Coughlin said. “He likes it.”
Kennard, a Phoenix native, is proving productive and versatile. That’s what the Giants were hoping for after scouting him at USC, where he played multiple positions, including defensive end, strong-side linebacker, middle linebacker and outside linebacker. He also played under multiple defensive coordinators and head coaches, always having to learn a new system and new responsibilities.
Adapting to change has helped keep Kennard from being overwhelmed during his early weeks of training camp. He spent time at middle linebacker when McClain was out with his own foot problem. Once he returned, Kennard moved over to strong-side linebacker, where he started the first two preseason games and is expected to start Saturday night against the Colts in Indianapolis.
Kennard said moving among different positions at USC was often frustrating, but he now values the experience.
“I think it prepared me for this moment now,” he said. “It showed me that this game is a business and it showed me how to adapt and be versatile and be able to do a lot of different things, and it also provided me with knowledge and understanding of the game to where I understand the concepts and can pick up on different things a lot faster than I used to be able to.
“My entire college career, I was faced with a lot of adversity. Maybe if that wasn’t the case, I would have gotten drafted higher. I’m not one to speculate. But I feel all the adversity I faced prepared me for this moment and it helped me become a better man, a better person and a better player, so I don’t take any of it back.”
At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, he has decent size and average speed. He also has good genes. His father, Derek Kennard, was an offensive lineman for 11 seasons in the NFL, playing for the Cardinals, Saints, and Cowboys, winning Super Bowl XXX with Dallas.
The elder Kennard wasn’t one of those overbearing fathers who forced his son to follow in his footsteps.
“He was always there for me and gave me advice when I wanted it,” the son said. “But he was just a dad. He let me go out there and do what I love to do. It’s something I’ve always appreciated. He set a great example for me. He’s accomplished a lot in his life and set a good example. I’m striving to do that and some.”
The Giants have struggled in recent years to draft linebackers with longevity. The position now seems to be an afterthought behind pass-rushing defensive ends and dependable defensive backs. Jacquian Williams, a sixth-round pick in 2011, is the only linebacker still on the team drafted in the Jerry Reese era, not counting Zak DeOssie, who is exclusively a long-snapper. Mark Herzlich was signed as a rookie free agent out of Boston College in 2011.
And now, the Giants may have found another keeper in Kennard.