Q. Got some inside info to ask this question here. What was the hardest thing you did training growing up as a kid?
COLTON HOOD: Probably running hills. That was pretty hard. My dad, since I was like 9 years old, used to make us get up at 6:00 in the morning and go run hills. Also, he made us run like 20-something 200s on the track. That was pretty hard. With steel-toed boots, so that was pretty hard.
Q. When Coach Harbaugh was describing you, he used the term pitbull. How much is that where you got it from?
COLTON HOOD: Shoot, I definitely got it from that for sure. I would say pitbull, like pitbull is a great word. Pitbull, I would say I'm more like a Cane Corso, you know what I'm saying? Bigger dog, but you know what I'm saying? I'm ecstatic with that comparison for sure.
Q. Do you have a Cane Corso in the house?
COLTON HOOD: No, I don't have any. I'm planning to get one. My parents don't really like pets, so I never had one growing up. If I'm living by myself, I might get me a Cane Corso for sure.
Q. What have the last 12 or so hours been like for you?
COLTON HOOD: It kind of feels unreal still to this day. Like I'm in a New York Giants facility, like it's kind of crazy. I'm just happy to be here. I'm ready to go to work honestly. If we could practice tomorrow, I'd throw my cleats on right now.
Q. What are your strengths as a player?
COLTON HOOD: My strengths, I would say, just my competitive nature and also just my press man ability. I don't think there's too many people in the Draft -- not too many people. There's no one in the Draft that's as good as me when it comes to press.
I just want to continue to build on that and continue to build on my game so when the season comes, I can be dominant.
Q. How much have they told you about that press man that appealed to them, and what they're going to do with you?
COLTON HOOD: They told me that was one of the biggest things they liked about me. Just told me about just my technique and how they like my technique and not to change it, you know what I'm saying? Come in and continue to work on it and continue to master it.
Q. Who are some players you looked up to?
COLTON HOOD: My uncle played ten years in the league, and he trained Patrick Peterson when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. So, yeah, Pat Pete is a big one, someone I looked up to since I was 13, 14 years old. Someone I always watched.
I would also say Pat Surtain, Darrelle Revis, Jaycee Horn -- all those guys are great man-to-man lockdown corners and they also go get the ball. Those are some of the main guys.
Q. You mentioned your Uncle Rod worked with Coach Harbaugh and you told us he prepared you on what to expect. What have you learned from your Uncle Rod from your development learning how to be a pro, how to be a football player?
COLTON HOOD: I learned everything from him, like him and my dad, just about football. My uncle to the more technical side of playing the position, playing corner, he taught me almost everything about it.
Definitely somebody I look up to, somebody who I still go to to this day if I need any advice about the position.
Q. When did you come up with the celebration?
COLTON HOOD: I came up with it actually in the spur of the moment. So right before my first PB of the season -- actually, the night before me and my roommate, Ty Redmond, we were talking about celebrations we're going to do. I was trying to think of a celly. I want to do something that nobody else has done, nobody else is doing. In the spur of the moment, I thought of that because my last name's Hood, and it kind of stuck.
Q. Harbaugh said he thinks you will light a fire in the corner room. How do you balance being a rookie and assimilating with trying to take a job and be a leader right away?
COLTON HOOD: Honestly, I'm just going to be my myself. I'm not going to go in there and step on anybody's toes, but I am coming in there to compete. That's just who I am. That's the type of person I am.
I'm going to be myself. I'm going to be fun, lighthearted, you know what I'm saying? Not somebody who's always, I guess, super serious. I'm about my business, and I'm going to come in there and compete.
Q. We saw a couple times they put the video out of your phone call, you got pretty emotional. It sounded like you were still emotional when you talked to us last night. How do you manifest the emotions or just describe what it's all about? Is it all the same, or are there different points where you feel it coming and you say, you know what, let it go?
COLTON HOOD: Like I don't have a choice of whether I could hold it in or not. I've been holding it in this whole process. I've been dreaming about this since I was 6 years old, looking at my ceiling dreaming about playing in the NFL. To get to play for such a storied franchise as the Giants in this great city of New York is just something that even I couldn't have dreamed of.
Just being able to be here in this moment is amazing and definitely something that I'm grateful for, I'm going to be appreciative of.
Q. Are there any wide receivers that you have watched -- I'm sure you watch a lot of football -- and you're thinking, oh, I get to cover them?
COLTON HOOD: Yeah, like I'm a big football fan. I'm a big fan of Ja'Marr Chase, big fan of Justin Jefferson, big fan of all the top guys, Chase and Puka Nacua, all the top guys I'm a big fan of. Being able to go out there and compete with those guys is definitely a blessing and something I look forward to.
Q. You mentioned the storied history with the Giants. Is there anyone in particular you're a fan of or that you remember?
COLTON HOOD: You want me to name them all? Michael Strahan, Eli Manning, Odell Beckham, Lawrence Taylor -- I mean, like there's so many players that have come here, did the right thing, and the city loves them for it.
I'm a football guy. I'm big on football. That's all I know. That's all I do. Yeah, I love this franchise, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports