Hosley Drafted by Giants in Third Round

Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley was drafted late in the third round by the New York Giants, who took Hosley with the 31st pick in the round, 94th overall. Hosley joins teammate David Wilson, who was drafted in the first round by the G-Men.

The pick helped Virginia Tech cement its status in college football as "DB U". The Hokies have now had a defensive back drafted in 14 straight NFL drafts, dating back to 1999.

Hosley was projected to be a second or third-round pick, so from that standpoint, he wasn't hurt by the fact that he failed a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine. Giants General Manager Jerry Reese said of the failed drug test, "We're aware of that, obviously. He's not the first one to have a situation like that. He's a young kid - he's very young. He's 20 years old. He's an early-out junior. He knows that's a bad decision that he made and we expect better from him."

Reese also said, "He's not a big man, but this guy has athletic arrogance. He plays like a big guy. ... He runs in there kind of like a little linebacker. He throws himself in there. He has outstanding cover skills. He's productive. He's an interceptor, he can intercept the ball, so we expect him to be in our nickel packages. And a bonus is that he's a punt returner. ... He has a lot of good qualities that we like."

Giants coach Tom Coughlin echoed Reese's sentiments, praising Hosley's athletic ability, toughness, hands, and special teams ability. Coughlin summed it up by saying, "We feel like we can accomplish a lot with this kind of an athlete. He's not the biggest guy in the world. That was discussed. However, we do think he is a competitive, feisty guy and he's one of those people that has not backed down from anybody."

Hosley is the 18th defensive back drafted out of Blacksburg in the last 14 years.