1977 Rookie Profile: Randy Dean

Quarterback
5th Round
Northwestern
"Versatility is the trademark of Randy Dean, Northwestern's MVP in 1976 when he completed 87 of 177 for 1,384 yards and eight touchdowns and was named to play in the East-West Shrine Game. A 'walk on' player, Randy was an All-Academic Big 10 choice with a 3.89 average in industrial engineering. He also lettered in basketball and was a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic handball team. For additional honors, Dean was named as one of the top five NCAA senior student-athletes of 1976.
He finished fifth in Northwestern total career offense with 2,860 yards in just two seasons of play. Dean's two-year passing stats were 188 completions in 374 attempts for 2,699 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also rushed for 177 yards in his senior season and as the Wildcat punter, averaged 42.5 as a junior to rank 13th in the country. In both of his seasons, he led Northwestern in minutes played, and in addition to his all-around play and punting ability, he also doubled as the holder for all conversion and field goal attempts.
Randy hails from Whitefish, Wisconsin and is from an athletic family- his twin brother Rob was a wide receiver at Northwestern and his father, Ross, was a Big 10 official for 29 years."

-1977 New York Giants Media Guide

1977 Rookie Profile: Mike Vaughan

Offensive Tackle
4th Round
Oklahoma
"The Giants filled a need for a big offensive lineman by getting Oklahoma's All-American Mike Vaughan. At 6-5 and 275, Vaughan was a powerhouse at blowing people off the ball and because of his dimensions (the biggest offensive tackle in Oklahoma history) earned the nickname 'U.S.S. Vaughan.'
He earned every honor possible as a junior, being a First-Team All-American by both AP and UPI as well as the Football Writers, Football News and Kodak. Much of the success of running back Joe Washington in 1975 was directly traced to Mike's tremendous power blocking straight ahead. Plagued by nagging injuries his senior season, he is fully recovered and now gives the Giants their biggest offensive line prospect in many years.
Since Oklahoma obviously has not been much of a passing team in recent years, Vaughan will need to work in the area of pass blocking, but as Giants' line coach Jay Fry observes, 'with his strength, power and quickness and the fact that he was a starter for three years in the Big 8, we feel we have a really outstanding prospect ... a player who can step right in and become a starter.'
Mike is from Ada, Oklahoma and starred there in high school in both football and track and has also wrestled."

-1977 New York Giants Media Guide

1977 Rookie Profile: Johnny Perkins

Wide Receiver
2nd Round
Abilene Christian
"The No. 2 pick, he is from Abilene Christian and was ranked No. 3 by one scout on a list of 1976's best college receivers."

-John Devaney, Schenley Pro Football Guide 1977

"At 6-2 and 208 pounds, Perkins also doubled as a track letterman at Abilene Christian, specializing in the 100- and 220-yard dashes and as a member of the 440-yard relay team. His prowess in the two sports was such that he was named an NAIA First-Team All-Star this past season, as well as gaining All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press. And his times in the dashes, 9.8 in the 100 and 22.3 in the 220, had him highly ranked in those departments. A native of Grandbury, Texas, Perkins was an All-State football star as well as a top trackman and began his collegiate career at Ranger Junior College in Texas.
For his two seasons at Abilene Christian after his transfer from the Jaycee ranks, Perkins made an auspicious debut by catching 50 passes for 1,195 yards and 12 touchdowns in his junior season, and that figure was the leading total among NAIA receivers. He was named to the NAIA All-American first team as a junior, Conference Lineman of the Year and Abilene Christian's Most Valuable Player. He additionally made All-Conference as a punter as well as a wide receiver. This past season, Perkins had 48 receptions for 995 yards, a 20.7 average, and had six touchdowns, the longest of which was an 84-yarder."

-1977 New York  Giants Media Guide

1977 Rookie Profile: Gary Jeter

Defensive Tackle
1st Round
USC
"From USC, he was described by one scout as 'an up and down player, sometimes great, other times gets pushed around.' The Giants' No. 1 choice."

-John Devaney, Schenley Pro Football Guide 1977

"The All-American defensive star from USC was the top-rated player on the Giants' list at both defensive end and defensive tackle and at 6-4 and 255, he has the size, and his recorded times of 4.7 and 4.8 in the 40-yard dash is ample proof of his quickness and agility. 'His physical ability is awesome,' says USC coach John Robinson, and teammate Ricky Bell, the draft's No. 1 pick this year, calls Jeter, 'the best defensive player I've ever seen ... there was more than one game in which Gary kept us in the game by his sheer determination on defense.'
This past season as the Trojans again went to the Rose Bowl and a big triumph over Michigan, Jeter was selected to both the Football Writers Association and NEA All-American first team and to the  Associated Press All-American second team.
He had 55 unassisted tackles on the season, including a half-dozen quarterback sacks, three pass deflections and three fumble recoveries. A starter since his freshman year when he took over at left tackle in the third game of the season, Jeter has accumulated remarkable totals in his defensive statistics, not only in solo tackles (235) and quarterback sacks (31), but in the area of deflected passes at the line of scrimmage and in fumble recoveries.
From Cleveland, Ohio, Gary was an all-around high school star at Cathedral Latin High School in that city, being named Ohio's Outstanding Lineman in 1972 and also being a consensus High School All-American."

-1977 New York Giants Media Guide

1977 Profile: Don Zimmerman

Wide Receiver
No. 80
N.E. Louisiana
"Obtained via waivers from Green Bay during this past off-season, Zimmerman had spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles prior to his brief stint at Green Bay where he appeared in but two games and had a pass catch for 13 yards.
A No. 12 draft choice of the Eagles in 1972, Don spent that year on the Eagle taxi squad but became a starter in 1973 for 11 games, and then was a starter for all 14 games during the 1974 season. He had 22 catches for 220 yards and three touchdowns in 1973, 30 catches for 368 yards and two touchdowns in 1974 and made touchdown catches against the Giants in both '73 and '74. Zimmerman had a 64-yard touchdown against Dallas in '74, the longest scoring play of the year for Philadelphia.
Zimmerman was a two-year starter as a wide receiver at Northeast Louisiana after starting his college career at Arkansas A M & N, and also lettered in track where he clocked 21.7 in the 220-yard dash. He received in B.S. in education.
Don was born in Monroe, Louisiana, and was a football, basketball and track standout at Richwood High School in his hometown."

-1977 New York Giants Media Guide

1977 Profile: Marsh White

Running Back
No. 24
Arkansas
"White was a 12th round pick in 1975, going that late primarily because of a collegiate career marred by a series of nagging injuries. As a rookie he improved steadily throughout the season, getting into all 14 games and proving to be a fine hitter and performer on all of the special team duties. He also managed to see extensive duty in the backfield as a reserve and enjoyed a solid afternoon in the 26-23 win over San Francisco when he carried 12 times for 69 yards and scored a touchdown. All told, White had 90 yards on 17 carries for a team-leading 5.3 average and also caught three passes for 15 yards.
In '76, Marsh saw a lot of action in all 14 games as a reserve running back, getting 69 carries for 233 yards and a touchdown. He had a big preseason game with 100 yards rushing in a 17-0 win over the Steelers.
Hampered by injuries in each of his three seasons at Arkansas, Marsh nonetheless had some fine days as a collegian, including 64 yards in eight carries against USC and 78 in 11 carries against Texas Tech. He was an All-SWC choice as a soph when he rushed 80 times for 340 yards after a fine freshman season when he scored 10 touchdowns.
Marsh R. White was born in Bonham, Texas and starred at Bonham High School in his hometown. He is a cousin of Cincinnati Redleg Joe Morgan."

-1977 New York Giants Media Guide

1977 Profile: Larry Watkins

Running Back
No. 36
Alcorn A & M
"The Giants obtained Watkins for a draft choice from the Buffalo Bills after the [1974] season. He became a valuable running back all through the 1975 season, finishing as the club's top per-average rusher with a 4.5 mark, with 303 yards on 68 carries. His best days were against the Cardinals and the Chargers, with 85 yards rushing against the former (all in one half) and 71 against the latter.
Originally signed as a free agent by Detroit in 1969, Larry played one season there and was traded to Philadelphia in 1970. After three seasons as a reserve, he was traded to Buffalo and became a starter with O.J. Simpson in 1973, carrying 98 times for 414 yards, a 4.2 average and two touchdowns. Larry had 105 yards rushing on 18 carries in the season opener against New England, then proved to be a fine blocker that year as O.J. had his 2,000-yard season. Last year, in 13 games, he saw only limited duty as a reserve behind Larry Csonka, but again proved to be a capable fullback with 96 yards on 26 carries [3.7 average] and a touchdown.
Watkins was a three-year letterman at Alcorn A & M and was named co-captain in his senior year. He also played in the Orange Bowl that year.
Lawrence Watkins was born in Bessemer, Alabama and played his high school sports at J.S. Abrams High in Bessemer. He now lives in Camden, New Jersey and has taught in the Camden school system during the off-seasons."

-1977 New York Giants Media Guide