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Short order Giants' fourth-round pick wants to prove his value
Posted: Saturday April 22, 2000 08:27 PM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Brandon Short is joining the New York Giants with a major-league chip on his shoulder. It has nothing to do with the Giants, who drafted the Penn State linebacker in the fourth round of last weekend's NFL Draft with the 105th pick overall. Short is just annoyed with the draft. "To be honest, I'm extremely disappointed," Short said at the Giants minicamp for rookies and free agents. "I had no idea it was possible to slip that low. Hopefully, things happen for a reason, and I'm hoping it will be a blessing that I ended up here with the Giants." Coming into the draft, Short of McKeesport, Pa., had hoped to be taken either late in the first round or early in the second. The middle linebacker had returned for a fifth year with the Nittany Lions and finished it by leading the team in tackles (103) for the second straight year. That's no small accomplishment. He beat defensive end Courtney Brown and linebacker LaVar Arrington, the top two picks in the NFL draft. With those stats, Brown has no idea why he went in the fourth round. "You have to ask the front office people what they liked and what they didn't like," said Short, a first team All American and one of the four finalists for the Butkus Award, given the nation's top linebacker. "But my goal is to go out there and show the league they made a mistake." In some of the pre-draft evaluations, some experts felt Short was a little inconsistent, while others said his value declined because most middle linebackers are not every down players. "Obviously there is room for improvement in every aspect," Short said. "I heard people say I was a long strider, and I needed to work more on taking short explosive steps. But the long strides help me get there faster. I really don't know." The Giants plan to give Short a chance to challenge Ryan Phillips at strong side linebacker, since Short played over the tight end at times at Penn State. Short refused to say what he did waiting for his name to be called last weekend, but he admitted it was a struggle to make it through the night after he wasn't taken in the first three rounds. One thing he did was keep track of the 15 linebackers taken ahead of him, particularly the three middle linebackers. "It'll translate into motivation," said Giants coach Jim Fassel. "I don't sense any bitterness, but he'll walk around wanting to prove himself." Jessie Armstead had the same attitude after injuries led to his being drafted in the eighth round in 1993. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl the past three years. "I bring excitement, a lot of energy and a linebacker mentality," Short said. "I'm someone who is going to go out there with a chip on his shoulder."
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