When Jon Halapio joined the New York Giants' practice squad in 2016 Chaz Green Jersey , Brett Jones was one of the first guys to welcome him.

Jones had joined the Giants the previous year as a center in trying to make the jump from the CFL to the NFL, and he appreciated when some new teammates made him feel welcome.

Why not do the same for Halapio? The two 27-year-old offensive linemen became real good friends and helped each other become better players.

Halapio, a guard at Florida, taught Jones some trade secrets at the spot and Jones taught his buddy how to snap and play center.

A little less than two years later, Jones is fighting to keep the starting center job he manned the final 12 games of last season. And it's Halapio, who is the main competition.

Not only is he the competition, Halapio has been getting most of the first-team snaps in the lineup being put on the field by new coach Pat Shurmur.

Jones isn't worried. It's early in training camp and nothing is set. He also has no regrets about teaching the guy who might take his job.

"It's always been like that in my life," Jones said Monday. "If anybody ever gave me an opportunity I wanted to repay it to them. So that was my thing. Jon was on the practice squad and I was the backup center and if Jon was going to play I wanted to help him out and do what I could. That's what a good teammate does."

Learning to snap was part of the mentoring.

"He had asked me and I sort of gave him the basic training for it," said Jones, who was the CFL's most outstanding lineman in 2014 and missed his first season in the NFL the following year because of a training camp injury. "After practice we would stay and practice snapping. It sort of went from there."

Halapio took the long road to the NFL. He was drafted in the sixth round by New England in 2014. He was on the Broncos' practice squad that season and went to the Cardinals and Patriots training camps in 2015 and '16, respectively, getting cut each time.

The Giants signed him to the practice squad for most of 2016. He was cut in training camp the following season and re-signed to the practice squad. Injuries got him on the active roster in October and he played in 10 games with six starts at guard.

The move to center came this year.

"Everything was new so I had to learn a lot Michael Irvin Jersey , not only the schemes, but the different techniques and calls," Halapio said. "I had to learn a lot."

The biggest differences are blocking from a balanced stance, having to make line calls and read coverages and sometimes making the shotgun snaps.

"The more you do it, the better you get," Halapio said. "In the offseason I snapped a bunch, and even now I keep snapping after practice so it's second nature."

Halapio admits fighting Jones for a job felt odd at first.

"It's just pure competition now," Halapio said. "Like coach says all the time, don't read into who's taking the first-team reps. Everyone is being evaluated. As far as me and Brett goes, we're friends. We help each other out in the film room, on the field, outside of football. Nothing is awkward between us. Yeah Torry Holt Jersey , it's just pure competition between us and everybody in the room."

The Giants have revamped their offensive line after last year's disastrous 3-13 season. Guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg signed elsewhere as free agents. Guard John Jerry is now a backup fighting for a roster spot.

Patriots free agent Nate Solder was signed to take over at left tackle and 2015 first-rounder Ereck Flowers was moved to right tackle. Second-round draft pick Will Hernandez is the left guard and free agent Patrick Omameh is the right guard.

The center spot is uncertain.

A former center, Shurmur says he is watching the position closely. He wants his centers to be good communicators.

Halapio might be a little stronger than Jones, who probably understands the job better and had 30 NFL games under his belt at guard and center.

It should be an interesting decision for Shurmur.

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THURSDAY, May 3

CYC¨CCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS-RATO¡¯S RIDE

Every so often, a particularly steep descent will intimidate the 23-year-old Spanish cyclist. Understandable, considering that nearly four years ago Mauro Rato blew a tire during a race in Spain Rodger Saffold Jersey , crashed into a wall and broke six vertebrae. It¡¯s been a long climb back ¨C one that landed him in Grand Junction, Colorado, and riding for Colorado Mesa University. He will be among the favorites as the USA Cycling collegiate road national championships roll into Rato¡¯s backyard this weekend. By Pat Graham. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 6 p.m. Thursday.

FRIDAY, May 4

FBO¨CRECYCLING THE PAIN

CINCINNATI ¨C Defensive lineman Devon Still retired from football and started his second career, trying to help families cope with childhood cancer. He¡¯s using lessons learned through his experience with 7-year-old daughter Leah, who became a national story during her recovery from the disease. Still calls it a way of recycling the pain and helping others heal. By Joe Kay. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 3 a.m. Friday.

MONDAY, May 7

BUFFALO RISING?

BUFFALO, N.Y. -It has never been easy being a sports fan in Buffalo, where losing ¨C and the way the NFL¡¯s Bills and NHL¡¯s Sabres have lost ¨C has been as customary as the winters are long and wings spicy. The teams¡¯ most notorious moments even have names for them, be it the Bills¡¯ ¡±Wide Right Daeshon Hall Jersey ,¡± or Sabres¡¯ ¡±No Goal.¡± And yet, a renewed sense of hope has arisen in this rust-belt city after the Bills selected quarterback Josh Allen in the first round of the draft, and the Sabres won the NHL draft lottery over the span of three days. By John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 950 words, photos by 3 a.m. Monday.

TUESDAY, May 8

BKC¨CRICE REPORT-BASEBALL DRAFT MODEL

The Commission on College Basketball recommends high school basketball players be allowed to hire agents or advisers to help them weigh the pros and cons of turning professional. The commission also proposes that basketball players who declare for the draft but aren¡¯t selected be allowed to retain their college eligibility. Those proposals are similar to NCAA rules governing baseball. Former TCU baseball star Evan Skoug said his experience with an adviser was invaluable in his draft process. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 3 a.m. Tuesday.

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