By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

March 12, 2007



EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Reuben Droughns, the newest Giant, visited his new professional home today. He was at Giants Stadium to meet with members of the front office and the coaching staff, and visit the locker, equipment, weight and training rooms. Droughns was acquired Friday in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, who received wide receiver Tim Carter. In seven NFL seasons with Detroit, Denver and Cleveland, Droughns has rushed for 3,327 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 116 passes, including six for scores. The 5-11, 220-pounder will team with Brandon Jacobs in the Giants’ new-look backfield. During his visit to the stadium, Droughns sat down for an interview with Giants.com.

Q: Do you greet this as good news? Are you happy with the trade that brought you to the Giants?

Droughns: “I’m excited about this. I think this is phenomenal news for me.”

Q: Why?

RB Reuben Droughns will team up with Brandon Jacobs for a powerful 1-2 combination in the Giants backfield.
Droughns: “It just gives me an opportunity to get back on a winning track. We had some down years in Cleveland, and I think this was a marriage that was waiting to happen between me and Brandon Jacobs.”

Q: Have you had a chance to talk to Brandon yet?

Droughns: Yes, I talked to him here. We’re going to go to lunch,”

Q: You’ve been in shared backfield before. The trend seems to be towards shared backfields now. What are your thoughts on that?

Droughns: “I think it’s great. I mean, you see the two Super Bowl teams from this year, they had the same arrangement. Chicago split their carries (between Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson) and in Indianapolis they had Dominic Rhodes and (Joseph) Addai. I think it’s just become a trend now to keep backs fresher and to change the pace up a little bit.”

Q: Were you impressed by Brandon’s size when you saw him?

Droughns: (Laughs). “Oh, yeah. He’s a big young fella."

Have you ever felt so short next to another running back?

Droughns: "Not at all."

Q: Do you think the fact that you’re built differently will be beneficial to both of you?

Droughns: “I think we’re going to be able to wear down some defenses. The style of running that we have is on the more aggressive side, so I think the pounding on defenses is going to be a little tougher on them.”

Q: Your rushing yardage with the Browns fell from 1,232 in 2005 to 758 last season. How much of that drop was due to the many injuries Cleveland suffered on the offensive line and how much was you?

Droughns: “I do have to take some blame for it. I don’t think it was my best season, definitely. But at the same time, we had an injury situation on our O-line. We had to throw in some guys in there in certain situations. As a whole, we weren’t able to jell together.”

Q: Having said that, do you think you’re still the back that has twice rushed for more than 1,200 yards?

Droughns: "Yes. I think getting behind a more jelled offensive line and in a better quarterback situation is going to be great for me. In Denver, I was behind a good offensive line and I played with a good quarterback in Jake Plummer and I gained (1,240 yards in 2004). I was given the opportunity to get behind an offensive line that was a little better - not to take away from the guys in Cleveland.”

Q: You’ve learned new offenses before. Is it tough to come in and learn a new offense?

Droughns: "Well, this offense is kind of like Cleveland’s, so I’m pretty familiar with it.”

Q: Do you know anyone on the team?

Droughns: “I know Plax (Plaxico Burress). We came up together. I played against Plax in college. We’re cool. We talk and see each other. And Will Demps is a California guy.”

Q: You grew up in Southern California. Do you still live there?

Droughns: "I live in Colorado now. I’m a California guy, but Colorado is more laid back and not as expensive as California.”

Q: You rushed for almost 4,915 yards and 49 touchdowns in high school (Anaheim). Why did you go to junior college?

Droughns: "My grades were a problem. It was a little tougher to get into Oregon. So I went to (Merced Junior College). That really went well. I got the experience on the field and got to know some good people and coaches. The coaches were nice and they took care of me very well.”

Q: Why did you want to attend the University of Oregon?

Droughns: "It’s funny. I wanted to be on a team that played in California so that my family could see me, but I wanted to be out of California. I didn’t want to stay in California because I really wanted to track my talents elsewhere. I wanted to see if I was as good as people said I was. I kind of doubted myself as a high school player. I still didn’t believe in my talents. I didn’t believe in my talents until my second year in junior college, after I got injured.”

Q: What was the injury?

Droughns: “I broke my thumb in the second game of the season. I missed three games. I came back and went into the coach’s office and – I don’t know where it came from – but I said to him, ‘I won’t be stopped.’ I told him we wouldn’t lose any more games. We had lost two out of three and then we won every single game after that.”

Q: How do you look back on your time in Oregon?

Droughns: "I enjoyed it. I had some good coaches. I had a good running backs coach in Gary Campbell, (head coach Mike) Bellotti was an excellent coach and a good leader. I played with guys like Akili Smith, Joey Harrington and A.J. Feeley. I really enjoyed my time there.”

Q: You were drafted in the third round of the 2000 draft by the Detroit Lions, but missed the entire season. What happened?

Droughns: “I hurt my shoulder the first play of preseason. In college, you think you can run over everybody. I tried that in the pros. The first play, the strong safety (New England’s Tony Carter) was coming downhill and I told myself, ‘Oh, I’m going to get this guy. I’m going to hit him.’ I turned and ‘pow.’ Oh, it was the worst. Coach was like, 'stay out there.'"

Q: Was it dislocated?

Droughns: “It was dislocated and chipped.”

Q: What was that season like for you?

Droughns: “It was frustrating, because you expect a lot of yourself and you don’t expect to go down so easily.”

Q: You were a free agent when you signed with Denver (in 2002). Why did you choose the Broncos?

Droughns: “Denver just came after me. I didn’t think it was going to happen for me. I was working out back at my junior college. I just got a call from Denver and they told me they wanted to bring me in to training camp. At that time, I knew my role. I knew I was going to be an extra guy. They had guys like Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson and Olandis Gary. Then they drafted Clinton Portis. You pretty much know that you’re just another guy. My place was, I was going to make the best of this situation, look at some film and do my best on special teams.”

Q: With 27 special teams tackles in two seasons, did you think you made the most of your limited opportunities?

Droughns: “I had a great time on special teams. I love special teams. Special teams are fun to play.”

Q: What happened in 2004, your breakout season?

Droughns: “A couple of guys went down with injuries. Quentin Griffin had a bad ankle sprain. Tatum (Bell), I think he broke his finger. You had Garrison Hearst over there, but the offensive coordinator, Gary Kubiak, he really liked me. I had a good relationship with him through the years. He came up to me and said, ‘Hey man, I’m putting my job on the line for you. You’ve got to show these guys what you can do. I’m putting my job on the line here for you and I believe in you.’”

Q: Did you feel yourself grow as a player that year?

Droughns: “I did. Playing fullback for those two years, I was able to learn the system a lot better. You’re able to read the holes a lot smoother coming from the fullback position. You knew what the running back was trying to look at, trying to do and what kind of moves he was going to make and what kind of reads he was looking for. That just opened my eyes. I did feel like I grew up. Plus, they would give me plays toward the end of practice. It was funny, because every single time I got in there, I had to make the right cut. But because I wasn’t used to playing running back again, I’d fall down two steps after I picked the right cut. The coaches said, ‘Get out of there!’”

Q: Do you have what you considered to be a breakout game?

Droughns: “That first game against Carolina (a career-high 193 rushing yards on Oct. 10, 2004). Carolina had gone to the Super Bowl that previous year. I knew it was going to be a challenge, so I was excited to see myself run against a team like that.”

Q: How far in your advance did you know that you were starting?

Droughns: “They told me on Wednesday. They told me , ‘Hey, you’re going to be the guy.' From there I just took over.”

Q: After having a season like that, what was your reaction to being traded to Cleveland?

Droughns: “It was just an opportunity because I knew coming back they (the Broncos) had Tatum Bell. They had Mike Anderson coming back off of injury as well. So I knew they were thinking about maybe moving me back to fullback and I didn’t want to take that step back. I had asked my agent, 'What’s the possibility of getting traded maybe and getting a fresh start somewhere?’”

Q: For a guy who lacked confidence at one point, did having a second straight 1,200 yard season confirm for you what you’re capable of?

Droughns: “Yes. Then you come back the next year (2006) and the season isn’t as good as you hoped it to be. We didn’t exactly run the ball as much as we did the year before. Then you switch coordinators halfway through the season. That kind of hurts you, too. It was just one of those seasons. You could call it somewhat of a sophomore slump.”

Q: Is this move to the Giants another in a series of fresh starts?

Droughns: “This is definitely a fresh start and an exciting start. You get a young talented guy like Eli Manning at the helm - I’ve always wondered what it would be like to play behind a Manning. This is my opportunity.”

Q: Fair or not, people are going to say you’re the guy that replaced Tiki Barber. How do you feel about that?

Droughns: “I’m not trying to replace Tiki, because I know Tiki’s an amazing guy on and off the field. From what I hear, he’s definitely a great guy off the field. He’s a smart guy. His talent speaks for itself on the field. He’s a guy that I’ve watched for my whole career and admired as well.”

Q: So are you looking forward to it?

Droughns: “Yes, definitely. I think we’re going to work well together. Brandon and I are two aggressive running backs, and I believe when you get two aggressive running backs you get a chance to wear down defenses. In the fourth quarter, they’re not going to want to hit you as much.”