The guy who has replaced arguably their best back in history, missed two years of college ball because of a knee injury; spent most of his first season on the practice squad; and has ended two seasons on the injured reserve list.
But Derrick Ward is healthy now. And Tiki Barber’s retirement, at least for now, hasn’t hurt the Giants.
With Brandon Jacobs out with a knee injury, Ward has assumed the lead role. In two games, Ward has rushed for 179 yards on 28 carries, a 6.4-yards-per-carry average.
“I can do everything: power, speed, elusiveness,” he told reporters last week. “I’m like a small back in a big body.”
Ward, 5-foot-11, 230 pounds, played his first two years at Fresno State. After his knee injury, he transferred to NAIA Ottawa. In one year at the Kansas school, he rushed for 2,061 yards. The Jets drafted him in the seventh round in 2004 and he was on their practice squad until mid-October when the Giants signed him.
Before this season, he’d carried the ball 35 times — all in 2005.
“I have been very confident [in Ward],” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “He has played enough now to be a guy that has a little savvy about the spot.”
