Giants draft pick Eli Apple starred for Rutgers coach Chris Ash when he was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State.(Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast, AP) Before first-year Rutgers football coach Chris Ash could fully digest how great it will be to have one of his star pupils begin his NFL career in New Jersey, a second joined the party. The Giants picked cornerback Eli Apple with the No. 10 pick and the Jets picked outside linebacker Darron Lee with the No. 20 pick Thursday night in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Apple and Lee were teammates at Ohio State, where Ash was their defensive coordinator during both seasons as starters. “When Eli got picked by the Giants, I was really excited,” Ash told Gannett New Jersey by phone from Chicago. “The first thing that went through my head was, ‘Great, I’m going to be able to go watch Eli practice and hopefully get him down here to talk to our team and hang out with our players.’ Then when Darron went to the Jets, I was like, ‘Wow, this is really awesome. I can’t believe this happening. Same things.’” MORE: How did the Jets, Giants, Eagles fare in draft? Ash watched the draft in person for the first time in his coaching career as a special guest of Apple’s. …
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