Giants’ Will Tye will ‘be everywhere’ in his first season opener
Will Tye of the Giants on the sidelines during a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 12, 2016. Credit: George McNish
Will Tye watched last year’s season-opening game in Dallas on television, alone in his room in New Jersey.
“It was really weird,” the tight end said of being on the Giants’ practice squad at the time. “I was just watching the game and it was like: ‘Oh! Whoa! I’m on this team! Let me try to read certain things and learn but also enjoy it.’”
It turned out there wasn’t much to enjoy as the Giants lost with an epic collapse late in the game. This year, though, Tye is hoping he can help provide a different result. The second-year tight end from Stony Brook University figures to play a large role in the offensive gameplan and is eager to participate in his first NFL regular-season opener. He’s the first Stony Brook player to make an NFL team out of training camp.
“Oh, man, I’m ready for it,” he said. “It’s a tone-setter. You want to come out here and fire on all cylinders, whether you are blocking or receiver. Whatever your job is, you want to do everything right and show it to the best of your capabilities. You want the next team that sees you on film to say ‘Watch out for this guy, he does this well, he does everything well.’ It’s big.”
Tye likely will see time at both tight end and fullback. The Giants do not have a traditional fullback on their roster with Nikita Whitlock and Will Johnson both on IR, so Ben McAdoo has said he will use a committee to fulfill the responsibilities. Tye has done it some in the preseason and that should continue in the regular season.
“I’ll be everywhere, which is a good thing,” he said. “It means I’m learning but it also means I can see what I’ve got, see what I can do.”
Last year, he didn’t get that chance in the first week of the season. At least not in the first game. During practices leading up to the game in Dallas, he played the role of Jason Witten on the Giants’ scout team. Whitten scored the game-winning touchdown in the game.
“I was like: ‘Hey guys, I’ve done that all week! Come on!’” he said.
This time, he may get to score a touchdown as himself.
“That would be a great thing to do,” he said. “Exactly what I’m looking for.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
