Dravon Askew-Henry Motivated by Darelle Revis, Ty Law to Uphold Hometown Legacy

The Giants' newest cornerback Dravon Askew-Henry comes from an interesting place. Yes, the XFL counts as an interesting place in its own right, but his hometown of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania is a hidden producer of Hall of Fame NFL talent.

When the 24-year-old Askew-Henry signed with the Giants on Tuesday, he became the first player to go from the XFL to the NFL. Askew-Henry is also the 10th player from Aliquippa to make it into the NFL, joining the likes of his cousin and former Jets All-Pro cornerback Darelle Revis, Ty Law, Tony Dorsett and Mike Ditka.

“I look up to them guys. They set the bar high for a kid like me from Aliquippa,” Askew-Henry said of Revis and Law, according to Mike Gorman of The Tribune. “I was in the stands watching them play high school football. I always wanted to grow up and be like that. Ty Law going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is all the motivation that I need.”

As an ESPN true freshman All-American in his first year at West Virginia in 2014, Askew-Henry was on his way to joining his high school idols, at least in the ranks of highly-rated NFL prospects. But his career was set back by a torn ACL preseason camp going into his junior season in 2016.

“I came in and started as a freshman and expected to be three-and-out but, unfortunately, it didn’t go that way,” Askew-Henry said according to the Tribune. “It was taken away from me. I hadn’t missed a game, a down, a series since I’ve been playing football — and I started at age 4 — so that was my first real injury.

“That was a big thing for life after football. I had to grow from a boy to a man around that time. I really had to dig deep with all the extra work I had to put in just to get back to that starting position and leadership role."

Askew-Henry returned to the field for his final two years of eligibility at West Virginia, but his performance after the injury wasn't enough to warrant a draft pick. He did however get his NFL shot, only 24 miles away from Aliquippa.

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Askew-Henry as an undrafted free agent in 2018, but it was a short-lived stint for Askew Henry, as he didn't make the 53-man roster.

After being cut by his home-town team, the genesis of the new XFL gave Askew-Henry another chance. Metlife Stadium would serve as the official start point for Askew-Henry's pro-football career, starting all five games for the New York Guardians before the XFL's season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the pandemic didn't cut Askew-Henry's football career short, as he will take his career back to the NFL, without even having to move. Now the Giants will be Askew-Henry's vessel for possibly keeping Aliquippa Hall of Fame tradition alive.

“Coming from ‘Quip, I feel like we just breed differently there," Askew-Henry said. "I’ve definitely still got a chip on my shoulder and just about all the odds and where this road is going to take me, I don’t look forward. I live for today, for this moment."

Add us as a preferred source on Google