Giants' Nicks likes draft pick Austin

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Hakeem Nicks won't be able to get on a football field with his newest Giants teammate, Marvin Austin, anytime soon. But Nicks knows that Austin, his teammate for two seasons at North Carolina, will be ready to go once the labor situation is resolved.

"I think it's a good fit for him, he's going to fit right in," Nicks said Thursday after the third day of workouts with Eli Manning and a small group of Giants receivers at Hoboken High School.

Austin, the Giants' second-round pick, sat out the entire 2010 season at UNC after improper contact with an agent and allegations of academic improprieties. He could easily have been a first-round pick, like Nicks was in 2009, but teams shied away from the defensive tackle after he missed an entire year.

"He's definitely not [a bad guy]," Nicks said. "He just goes out there on the field and he loves playing. He definitely has that [chip on his shoulder] -- I've talked to him. He's ready to get after it right now."

There is no right now for any NFL player other than what Nicks had here: Working with Manning and backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels for a little over an hour, along with fellow receivers Duke Calhoun, Victor Cruz, Michael Clayton and Sam Giguere, as well as tight end Kevin Boss.

Nicks said this offseason has actually gone better for him than his previous one, despite the lockout -- he missed significant conditioning time after his rookie season because of toe surgery. So, despite emergency surgery for compartment syndrome in his leg and a broken toe that caused him to miss three games last season, he's fully healthy now.

"I didn't really get a chance to train like I wanted to last year," Nicks said. "A month after this season ended, I got right back into it. I feel like I can go right now if we needed to."

Nicks had been working with a trainer in his hometown of Charlotte before getting an email from Manning in early April about this week's get-together.

It may continue next week, but possibly at a different location. Manning and his teammates took pictures and signed autographs for some of the folks from Hoboken High who gave him use of the field, and Mo DeGennaro, the school's athletic director, said Manning was going to let him know if he wanted to use the field next week.

Manning again declined to talk to reporters.

"I wouldn't say it's frustrating, it's the business part," Nicks said. "We're just stuck in the middle of it, you could say. It's just a matter of it getting done and guys being ready to play."