Former College Coach Reveals Why Matt Peart Can Start in Rookie Year
The Giants probably didn't draft offensive tackle Matt Peart in the third round with intentions of starting him as a rookie.
But intentions change, and the future might very well be right now for the former UConn lineman.
Initially, it was thought that Nate Solder would start at left tackle and rookie Andrew Thomas at right. But thanks to Solder's decision to opt-out of 2020, the Giants' starting offensive tackle picture has become muddied.
Presumably, Thomas will move to left tackle, the position he played in college. But over on the right side, it's been shaping up to be a more wide-open competition.
Would the Giants consider starting two rookies at offensive tackle?
Well, if both proved to be among the top five starters, the answer is yes. So a better question to ask is how ready is Peart, whom many draft analysts have opined is raw and in need of added bulk to his frame to start in the NFL, for the challenge if he gets the call?
Frank Giufre, the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at UConn, believes Peart can indeed be ready.
Giufre should know and not because he coached Peart. Before coming to UConn, Giufre worked as an offensive quality control coach for the Colts, his duties also including serving as an assistant offensive line coach.
In that role, he helped get Joe Haeg, another young right tackle ready for the rigors of life in the pit, and in comparing Peart's situation to Haeg's, Giufre sees a lot of similarities.
"I see Matt as being a similar guy [to Haeg]," Giufre said in a phone interview with Giants Country. "[Peart] was a guy that did everything I asked him to do in the offensive line room."
According to Giufre, one thing that helped prepare Haeg, who, as a rookie, started 14 games for the Colts and helped pave the way for Frank Gore to rush for 1,025 yards, was his extensive college playing time.
Haege made 60 starts in five seasons for North Dakota State, including postseason appearances. Haeg also made the transition from right tackle in his first 29 starts to left tackle for 31 straight starts in his final collegiate seasons.
Peart's college career reflects similar durability and versatility to Haeg's. Peart never played in a postseason game for UConn, but he still put together 48 straight starts from 2016-19.
Peart also made the transition from right tackle his first two years to left tackle in his final two years. He was even named a First Team All-Conference selection by the American Athletic Conference as a senior in 2019.
Peart might be a bit on the raw side, but Giufre believes he's a fast learner who already has some built-in strengths such as his football intelligence, his length, his athleticism that could benefit him in the competition at right tackle.
Giufre believes Peart's biggest challenge at the NFL level will be adjusting to the speed and strength of the competition.
"Whoever [the Giants] have lined up at their defensive end position, it's not going to be the ones he was playing at UConn," Giufre said. "He's going to have to be on his P's and Q's because I know [offensive coordinator] Jason Garrett and [offensive line coach] Marc Colombo are going to be all over him."
If Peart is thrust into the starting lineup as a rookie, he will have to adjust to that level of athletic competition faster than he did at UConn.
Peart redshirted his freshman year in 2015. The redshirt year only proved beneficial for his long-term college career, as Peart went on to be a consistent starter for the Huskies in the four years that followed.
NFL competition will be an even tougher learning curve for Peart, and he may have even less time to adjust and prepare for it.
But Peart won't be making the transition alone. He'll go through it with first-round pick Andrew Thomas and fifth-round pick Shane Lemieux, as well as undrafted free agent rookies Tyler Haycraft and Kyle Murphy.
Giufre said his experience in the NFL revealed that a lot of young offensive linemen often come into the league with very few bad habits and that it all boils down to who's ready to come to work.
"There's not a lot of time to teach offensive linemen so I really think Matt is going to be able to work," Giufre said.
"He may not be perfect but he's going to come in and work his butt off and hopefully, he'll assume that role at right tackle."
