You can see from the above picture that Giants rookie LB Lorenzo Carter has a new hairstyle. He can thank his new teammate LB Olivier Vernon for that.
As part of "team bonding," rookies had their hair stylized by some of the Giants' veterans. And Vernon decided to take an entire bottle of orange hair dye, and give Carter a makeover.
"They dumped the whole (dye) in my head," Carter told NJ.com's Ryan Dunleavy. "It was a lot of guys, but O.V. was the one who stood out to me because he showed me his picture of what they did to him his rookie eyar in Miami. It was a lot worse than mine. His was real bright. I was like, 'It can't be that bad.'"
Carter's hair is just as bright as his chances to start Week 1 against the Jaguars with Vernon currently out with an ankle sprain and a deep bruise high up on that left ankle. Carter, along with Romeo Okwara, got first-team reps during practice Monday in Vernon's role as outside linebacker.
Though Carter will be battling Okwara for the starting role, he says his drive to compete remains the same.
"It really doesn't affect me too much," Carter said about Vernon's injury. "I'm still going after it, doing the same thing. At practice still trying to get better, taking it one play at a time. He'll be back though. So, it's not biggie."
But it is a biggie if Vernon can't make it back out on the field for Opening Day. The seven-year veteran is a vital part of the defensive front, as he can set the edge or rush the passer with effectiveness on every snap.
Carter is looking to emulate his production in his first year coming out of Georgia. Getting those extra reps in practice, now, is a step forward, but Carter has already been making the most of his opportunities at camp.
"I've been trying to put it out there and stack the days and just get better. I don't think nothing is really going to change that O.V. is out. It's going to be going out there every day with a mindset on getting better."
Carter admits that he is picking the brains of the veterans that dyed his hair, with Connor Barwin and Kareem Martin among his mentors as well. Gaining knowlege about the game is something he strives to do each and every day.
"I think just knowing things, the knowlegdge of the game, trying to pick on keys, know what the offense does before they do it, so I can put myself in the best position to stop it," Carter said. "Talking to Connor, talking to O.V., Kareem, it's all trying to put yourself in a better position before the snap. So, that's what I'm working on. That's what I feel like I've gotten better at."
So, with just one preseason game left before the real fun begins, Carter has a week to show the Giants they can trust them to hold down Vernon's role if he cannot take the MetLife Stadium field on Sept. 9. To gain that trust, Carter knows exactly what he needs to improve on to get that nod for the first defensive snap of the season.
"For me, it's just playing, just getting out there and going," he said. "At times, I feel like I'm thinking too much. But, it's football, you get used to it. The game slows down as you get experience."