Jeremy Springer, Arizona’s special teams coordinator from 2018-20, says New York Giants draftee Gary Brightwell can do it all.
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When the New York Giants selected Arizona running back Gary Brightwell in the sixth round of the NFL draft last week, not many were impressed by the pick.
The Giants, however, didn’t really care. Brightwell’s offensive statistics were not eye-popping but, again, this pick was about more than meets the eye.
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“He’s a big kid and he’s got a heavy body, he’s a heavy body runner, he’s in the 215, 220 range and he really is a quality special teams player. So he’s got dual value,” said general manager Dave Gettleman.
Ah, special teams. Remember those? The part that Bill Parcells reminded us was “one-third” of the game? Giants head coach Joe Judge, who made his bones in this league as a special teams coordinator, seems to be especially stoked about bringing Brightwell to East Rutherford.
“He’s a guy that definitely jumped out,” Judge said last week. “A few weeks back, me, Tom Quinn and Thomas McGaughey were sitting in the staff room on a Saturday about 5:30am in the morning and Tom Quinn brought his name up and we watched his kick game and this dude was flying down the field and it was early enough that it woke you up and you really got excited about watching him. You start watching a lot more of his offense and start talking with our scouts who have done a lot of research on him and talking to Burton (Burns) as far as the running back value.
“Look, he’s a guy that jumps out from his skill set. You are always looking for good versatility and depth at those positions, running back and the kicking game. To be honest with you, the opportunity I had to really speak with him and spend some time with him even though it was over Zoom with Gary was very, very impressive. He has an tremendous story. This dude had the utmost compliments given to him from everyone who has been around him at every level. He was the guy that was available at the time and he was a guy we guy we could bring on on our roster and compete to be on the roster and make us a better team.”
In a recent interview on Big Blue Kickoff Live, Jeremy Springer, Arizona’s special teams coordinator from 2018-20, had this to say about Brightwell:
“I’ll tell you this, when I got to Arizona in 2018, he was one of the guys after my first Spring that just stood out as a kid with a lot of natural instinct when it comes to special teams,” Springer said. “He was a great running back for us, but often as me being special teams coordinator, that’s what I look at. He could do it all. He’s one of those guys that I was able to plug and play through his career at any position on any special teams…
“He’s all in, as well. A guy that came into practice, doesn’t say much. He’s a quiet kid, and you like that about him. A quiet kid but works his tail off. He worked his tail off for us, practiced hard, understands the game. And when it comes to game time, that’s where he stands out the most and why he was so special for us at Arizona.”
These are the types of players that teams need to win games and championships. Those unselfish, team-oriented players who do what it takes to win and see it as just part of their job.
