Hynoski never gave up on dream
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One day, he is forced to leave Pitt prematurely because of the never-ending coaching changes, from Dave Wannstedt to Michael Haywood to Todd Graham. The next day, he pulls up lame running a 40-yard sprint, unable to strut his stuff at the NFL scouting combine meat market. The day after, he is undrafted, unwanted and unsure of his football future because of the NFL lockout. The day after that, he turns down an offer from Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to sign with the New York Football Giants. Tonight, he will start at fullback against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.
That's Henry Hynoski's story.
Only in America.
It's the American Dream, actually.
Talent + Hard Work = Success.
"I wasn't going to let anything stop me," Hynoski said over the telephone the other day. "When you want something bad enough ... "
Never underestimate the sheer strength of a person's will.
It's a life lesson that never gets old.
Hynoski said he probably would have stayed for his senior season at Pitt if Wannstedt had remained as coach because Wannstedt liked to use a fullback in his offense. But he said he had no regrets about leaving even after he pulled his hamstring at the combine in February, an injury that also kept him from participating in Pitt's pro day or doing individual workouts for NFL scouts. He said he never stopped believing he would play in the NFL even after he wasn't drafted in April after being told he would go in the mid to late rounds.
Well, maybe Hynoski stopped believing just a little bit for just a second.
"I was upset. It was very discouraging," he said. "But I just used it as motivation to prove people wrong. It made me work out harder than ever. I'm talking about two or three times a day. When the time finally came for training camp, I was in great shape."
Tomlin called Hynoski to talk about a job as a free agent after the lockout ended in July. The Steelers didn't have a big need for a fullback in their offense, but they knew, better than any team, that Hynoski is a football player. Hynoski ended up choosing the Giants. He liked that they had called first. He also liked that coach Tom Coughlin had hung on the phone for 15 minutes, talking to his mother, while he was being sweet-talked by another NFL coach.
"It turned out to be the best decision I could have made," Hynoski said. "I ended up starting from Day One."
Tight end Bear Pascoe had filled in as the Giants' emergency fullback in 2010 after injuries to former starter Madison Hedgecock, but Pascoe wasn't allowed to practice by NFL rules in the early days of camp. When Hynoski said Day One, he meant Day One. He had no mini-camps or organized team activities because of the lockout and knew nothing about the offense, but he had a starting job in the NFL.
Hynoski is a fast learner; he graduated from Pitt in the spring with a degree in marketing. But this was tough.
"For the first week or so, I would stay up studying until 3 in the morning just trying to get down the instillation for the next day's practice," he said. "Then, I'd have to get up for our first meeting at 6:30."
Don't get the wrong idea.
Hynoski wasn't complaining.
We're talking about a labor of love.
Pascoe started at fullback in the first two exhibition games. Hynoski, who played well in the second one against the Chicago Bears, was named the starter the next week. It has been his job since, although a severe burner in the game against the Seattle Seahawks Oct. 9 cost him five games.
"I was running an [isolation] block on [linebacker] Aaron Curry," Hynoski said. "My right arm, from the side of my neck all the way to my fingertips, felt like it was electrocuted. Then, my arm just felt dead. I lost all strength in it. I couldn't raise it. I couldn't even hold up a towel. I had to build my strength back from nothing to 100 percent."
Hynoski returned to play against the New Orleans Saints Nov. 28 and has been a regular in the lineup since. He said he plays between 25 and 30 plays a game, almost always as the lead blocker -- "a thumper," he said -- for running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. "I think I'm playing better now than before I got hurt," Hynoski said. The Giants' running game certainly has been better, averaging 122 yards during the team's current four-game winning streak after being among the NFL's worst for much of the season.
Hynoski doesn't have any carries but did catch 12 passes for 83 yards during the regular season. He said playing in the 24-2 playoff win against the Atlanta Falcons was a kick and called playing against the Green Bay Packers last week at Lambeau Field "by far, the most exciting experience I've had in my life ... just walking on to such an historic field." The Giants took down the defending world champions, 37-20.
That experience figures to be trumped tonight by the game at Candlestick Park. And that will be trumped should the Giants make it to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis in two weeks.
"It's tempting to look ahead, but you can't," Hynoski said. "We're not in the Super Bowl. We're in the NFC championship game. That's where our focus has to be."
Hynoski remains close to many at Pitt. He will be in former Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick's wedding in June and keeps in touch with several other former teammates. He heard all of the horror stories about Haywood and Graham. He said he thinks Pitt finally got the right man in new coach Paul Chryst. "He'll take Pitt back to the ground-and-pound style of offense."
That's Hynoski's favorite kind of football. It's carried him a long way. It might just get him to the Super Bowl.
Imagine that.
A rookie free agent starting in the big game.
Did somebody say American Dream?
First Published January 22, 2012 12:00 am
