Undrafted safety Sean Chandler already impressed Giants head coach Pat Shurmur. After persevering through 6 homeless shelters, what can't the Temple product do?
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EAST RUTHERFORD -- Sean Chandler dove for the football and clutched it tight in his hands, just like the free hot dogs he used to bring home to his hungry younger sister.
The rookie safety bounced up and looked to return the interception in the opposite direction, just like how he once found a path to dodge trouble on the streets of Camden.
The Giants signed Chandler to their 90-man roster as an undrafted free agent, and he has quickly asserted himself in practice as a threat to steal a spot when teams cut down to 53.
If those sound like long odds, consider Chandler already has survived a childhood in and out of six different homeless shelters to reach the NFL. The family sometimes moved day-to-day, and a week's stay in one place felt long.
"The uncertainty of not knowing where your next meal is going to come from or where you are going to be at the next day," Chandler told NJ Advance Media, "is the hardest part."
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Chandler is the second-youngest of five children and became "the man of the house" when his older brother went to college. His mother, Latonya Woodson, worked multiple jobs, making sure the family had a steady address by the time Chandler turned 14.
"I was babysitting and bringing home extra food," said Chandler, who starred at Camden High School but took classes at a magnet school in the city. "In Little League, we would go scout other teams. Coach would buy us extra hot dogs or pizza, and I would bring some of that home."
Chandler's fortunes changed at Temple, where he was recruited by then-assistant coach Francis Brown, a formative influence in his development on and off the field.
The much-discussed plan was to mold Chandler from freshman starter into NFL Draft pick in three years, but Brown left for Baylor's staff after three. Chandler was injured as a junior and stayed for four, and then went undrafted despite participating in the NFL Combine.
It could be the Giants' gain as they look for help at free safety and on special teams.
"We are impressed by him already," head coach Pat Shurmur said. "You're rooting and pulling for guys that have kind of become self-made in a lot of ways. Like everybody else, he's trying to do everything right and do what he can to make our team better."
'His heart is 4.2'
Brown is not surprised to hear Chandler has to be peeled away from studying his playbook and already has two interceptions -- one in rookie minicamp and one in the first OTA alongside veterans -- in a Giants uniform.
"He helped us change the culture at Temple," Brown said. "He made watching film cool. He made it cool staying late, being in the building all the time, being a football junkie."
Brown grew up in Camden, too, though without the stiffest challenges Chandler faced.
The defensive backs coach met an eighth-grade Chandler - offering some homegrown wisdom to the kid seemingly the entire city knew as "Champ" - but Temple's scholarship offer was a result of falling in love with his junior year recruiting tape.
"He's not going to go and run a 4.3 (second 40-yard dash) for you," Brown said. "But if you line up a 4.3 guy, he is going to compete against that 4.3 guy like he is 4.3 because his heart is 4.2. That's who he is. He is super competitive."
All Chandler needed to hear from Brown - who had two short NFL stays as a cornerback with the Bengals -- was that it is "possible" to reach his goals.
"I'm here because I put the work in and it's paying off," Chandler said. "It's very exciting to be living out my dream and coming out each day ready to learn and get better. There's a lot of potential with it, but you've got nothing until you've actually made the team."
Chandler was a three-time All-American Athletic Conference selection at Temple, where his 10 career interceptions rank seventh all-time. Temple awards single-digit uniforms to the players deemed the toughest - Chandler had one all four seasons.
Brown's 13-year-old son wears No. 3 on his baseball uniform because of Chandler.
"He probably is the toughest kid I ever coached," Brown said, "dealing with where he comes from, how he kept it away and didn't pay any attention.
"I'm from the same spot: You can make a bad decision walking from one block to the next block. There are a lot of bad decisions that can be made just from hanging outside. I think he is tough because of what he did go through and what he didn't get involved in."
Camden's 'Champ'
Chandler earned his nickname by winning a drill on the first day of a youth football team's practice. It was designed to teach tackling, which has become his calling card.
As a senior, "Champ" ranked second-best among draft-eligible safeties in tackling efficiency according to Pro Football Focus. The name stuck through Temple and a couple of Giants - college teammate Mike Jones is in the locker room - are keeping it alive.
"He is not afraid of contact and he is not going to miss tackles," Brown said. "If Champ stays detailed and works the way he works, Champ will be a starter in the NFL soon."
So why did Chandler go undrafted? One NFL scout familiar with Chandler pointed to Combine numbers - 4.65 in the 40-yard dash, 119-inch broad jump, 34.5 inch vertical leap, all in the bottom half of the defensive backs -- and a down senior year on tape playing in a new defense.
But he has "smarts, instincts and ball skills," the scout said, drawing a comparison to another undrafted safety from New Jersey who has had a 14-year NFL career (Mike Adams).
The Giants scouted Temple's Pro Day and called with a promise of opportunity after the draft. Chandler signed a standard undrafted free agent three-year, $1.72 million contract (only $35,000 guaranteed), according to spotrac.com.
"It was definitely hard to watch (the draft), but I had to get over it fast because I had to make a decision," said Chandler, whose emotions quickly turned to joy with his mother when the phone rang. "There were tears for both of us, but I'm going to keep building and take it day by day."
There were tears the first time Chandler shared his story, too. It was his freshman year at Temple, and players were told to reveal a secret to teammates in order to strengthen the bond.
Chandler talked then -- as he does now -- about the struggle of homelessness and being counted out too many times. Yet, in the next breath...
"I had a good childhood," said Chandler, who is in communication with his father. "I'm happy to be from Camden. Sports kept me out of the streets. I give a lot of kudos to my coaches who kept me on the right track. My mom carried a lot of things on her plate. She is definitely the person who helped me get here today."
Shurmur spent 13 years as an Eagles assistant coach, living part of the time in South Jersey, about 20 minutes from Chandler's turf.
"He wanted his way out to be football and going to college: He stuck to it and busted his ass," Brown said.
"The head coach will love him, the defensive backs coach will love him, the special teams coach will love him, the quarterback and the leaders of the team will love him until he becomes a leader of the team. He is going to do everything the team wants done so they can win."
'I'll overcome it'
A wide smile spreads across Chandler's face as he thinks about the security of collecting his first NFL paycheck.
Chandler will call his mom: "Being away from home, she's still checking up on me and asking if I'm OK," he said like only a 22-year-old experiencing independence can.
He will remember the feeling so he can tell others when he volunteers in the Camden community where he once organized Champ's Camp.
"It's going to inspire somebody who was going through what I was going through," Chandler said. "It's going to help them get to where they need to be by hearing my story."
The story might still be near the beginning if Chandler continues to play beyond his years in the preseason. Camden and his childhood prepared him for it.
"Because of the adversity that I faced on a day-in, day-out type basis," Chandler said. "Not everyone goes through that. I did. It gives me a little chip on my shoulder. When times get rough, I know I'll overcome it because I overcame harder things before."
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Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.
