Giants' Okpokowuruk runs football marathon

While Giants CEO John Mara and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith were tackling a sticky new collective bargaining agreement in a posh Manhattan law firm, Ayanga Okpokuwuruk was just plain tackling. When commissioner Roger Goodell was trying to hammer out legal details, Okpokowuruk was hammering opposing quarterbacks.

And so it was that while the league was in a state of almost suspended animation this summer, Okpokowuruk, the defensive end with the difficult last name, was making life difficult for opposing QBs. In the Arena Football League.

"Just being able to actually work on my craft and actually play football, it's a lot different than just being out, running sprints, running through cones," Okpokowuruk (awk-pock-uh-WAR-uck) said at Giants training camp on Monday. "That's a lot different than putting pads on and actually playing football."

A member of the Giants' practice squad in 2010 after signing as a free agent, the Duke alum was first contacted by Spokane Shock director of player personnel Ryan Rigmaiden in February about joining the team. He initially turned the offer down.

" 'Cause you know this season's pretty long, and they have a 20-week season," Okpokowuruk said. "So I held off for a while. I was training and everything, but about halfway through I thought, 'Let me give this a shot.' "

Okpokowuruk said his initial hesitancy came from fear of injury or exhaustion once the NFL season finally started. But eventually he decided the payoff was worth the potential cost.

"A lot of guys get hurt training and doing all kinds of things," he said. "So, in my mind, I felt that the risk was worth it."

Okpokowuruk joined the Shock in mid-May and in six games he had eight tackles (five solo), one sack, broke up two passes and registered three quarterback hits.

"The name of the game is making plays," he said. "Before then, I hadn't played in a football game since college. So it gave me that kind of competitive atmosphere to be in. The fans out there were great, all the games were packed. So just being in that atmosphere, I was hyped. It reminded me of why I loved the game."

Since coming to camp Okpokowuruk said he hasn't noticed any physical benefits from the unusual offseason plan. But that's not to say it hasn't helped him.

"I try to find an edge any way I can," he said. "I feel that playing Arena ball definitely gave me the confidence to be able to come in here and know that I'd be ready for camp, as opposed to kind of being unsure of myself. Unsure if I'm prepared enough to put on pads and hit somebody. It gave me that confidence in what I was doing."

Coach Tom Coughlin was vague on if he'd seen an improved version of the 6-3, 250-pound Okpokowuruk.

"We'll see," he said. "I've seen some good things, and I've seen some things that have been OK."

Coughlin did, however, allow that elements of the Arena experience could help Okpokuwuruk going forward in camp.

"Athleticism, quickness, speed -- all those things are critical," he said. "So he'll just apply that to what's going on here."

His short detour from the NFL complete, Okpokowuruk said he's unlikely to go back to the AFL. He'll stick with camps and workouts under the Giants' umbrella. Although, laughing, he did paint one scenario where he would consider a return to the padded, half-sized indoor fields: "Maybe if there's another lockout."