Giants Could Be Looking to Add a Little Extra "Sauce" to Defense in Draft

Cincinnati's Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner has the skill set and produciton that apears to be a perfect fit for what new dfensive coordiantor Don Martindale might want to do.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Mar 5, 2022 1:24 PM EST

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Cincinnati Bearcats

This fall, the new Giants defense that’s coming your way could have a little extra dash of Sauce.

That would be Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, a feisty young cornerback who in three seasons for the University of Cincinnati did not allow a touchdown in coverage—and who told reporters at the NFL scouting combine that he has no intention of allowing a touchdown once he lands in the NFL, though if he does, he won’t dwell on it.

“I used to see all the tweets and all the things on social media about it, but it's not like I go into a game like 'I don't want to go give up a touchdown.' It's just that my preparation is so great—you know, to the point where as long as I prepare the right way, that's the outcome every time,” Gardner said during Friday’s combine media sessions.

His preparation includes lots of film study—Gardner said he scrutinizes every last detail of the opponents he’ll be facing and then takes that information into practice to tweak his game however necessary to ensure he won’t be beaten.

Gardner, who got his catchy nickname from a little league coach when he was six years old (“There's not really a meaning," he explained, "but my personal meaning …is a level of competence"), not only takes pride in how he prepares for the game but in how he lives his life.

He’s never smoked and doesn’t drink, not even when the Bearcats won the ACC championship and players were offered celebratory cigars.

Gardner instead gets his motivation, his natural high, if you will, from the thrill of the sport and competing in it.

“I'm just a guy that intrinsic motivation,” he said. “After we get a win, I’m just naturally excited. I don't need anything to make me feel some type of way.”

The 21-year-old Detroit-born Gardner also isn’t ashamed to admit he’s somewhat of a mama’s boy, crediting his mother Alisa, who for years worked in a plant until Gardner convinced her to retire so that he could care for her, for the sacrifices she made to help him realize his dreams.

“I had a mother who always made the impossible possible,” he said. “And things that I wanted, she gave me a hard time when I asked her for like Christmas. She'd tell me that game costs $300, but when Christmas came, the game would be right there. So she's my hero.

“Detroit is not a place that anybody could just live,” Gardner continued. “You got to be strong-minded, or you're just gonna fall by the wayside. Everybody in Detroit drinking and smoking and just being out and just violence but, you know, I had a strict parent, and I just made sure I took a different route.”

That route taken is at the core of Gardner’s success at the collegiate level and not allowing a touchdown in three seasons, including one as a true freshman. Gardner was targeted 135 times in three seasons, allowing just 58 pass completions (43 percent) for 703 yards, 310 after the catch.

Gardner, who said he could play man coverage, press coverage, and zone, explained why he is particularly fond of playing on an island.

“I ain’t got to worry about nobody else but my man,” he said. “I'm very competitive. I love the game of football. I'm very physical. I like to get hands on receivers.”

And would he like to get his hands on receivers playing in New York, one of the largest media markets?

“I mean, any opportunity is a great opportunity,” he said. “All of the teams get the same meat every time you know it's just gonna be a blessing to be able to go to whatever team you know chooses you.”