Jerome Lane, receiver from Akron, added to Giants’ roster
Akron wide receiver Jerome Lane runs a drill at the NFL scouting combine Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Indianapolis. Credit: AP / David J. Phillip
The Giants added rookie wide receiver Jerome Lane from Akron, a player whose biggest claim to fame so far came before he was born.
Lane is the son of former Pitt and NBA basketball player Jerome Lane. In 1988, Lane, playing for Pitt, shattered a glass backboard with a one-handed dunk in a nationally televised game against Providence. ESPN announcer Bill Raftery immortalized the event with a memorable call: “Send it in, Jerome!”
Lane the football player is not as big as his father, but at 6-2 and 226 pounds he is a pretty sizable wide receiver. He only played the position for two years at Akron.
Lane was a defensive end and linebacker and even played some safety in his first two seasons, but he started all 12 games at receiver last season and posted 62 catches for 1,018 yards and six touchdowns.
Lane signed with the Colts after the draft but was waived after their rookie minicamp. He replaces Jalen Williams on the Giants’ roster. Williams, an undrafted rookie from UMass, was waived/injured on Wednesday.
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.
