EastPreps client Chris Merkle had an opportunity to impress personnel from the New York Giants, including Head Coach Tom Coughlin, when he was invited to a private workout with the Giants along with other local draft prospects on April 8th.  This came on the heels of an impressive performance that he put together at Yale’s pro day two weeks ago, running great times and putting up 32 reps on the bench, which surely opened some eyes.  The Giants workout certainly was not any different with Chris once again displaying his immense talent on the football field which can be difficult to overlook despite playing at such a small football school.

Chris, a Defensive End out of Montclair State University and native of Nutley, NJ, is proof that NFL type talent exists at all collegiate levels.  He felt good and had positive things to say about his workouts.  He is also looking forward to getting an opportunity with an NFL team and feels that he can certainly excel at the next level if given a shot.  Chris can definitely be the next in line to shake the “small school stigma” that has existed in the NFL for so long but is finally starting to dwindle with a number of small school players in the past few years that are making a name for themselves in the NFL.

Chris capped off an outstanding collegiate career by being named a Division 3 All-American and 1st team All-Conference this past year, after recording 80 tackles and 8 sacks, which is even more impressive considering he was playing out of position at Defensive Tackle.  One thing’s for sure is that there is no denying talent, regardless of division and Chris is finally starting to get noticed after flying under the radar for so long.