William "Will" Hernandez (born September 2, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

College career

After redshirting his first year at UTEP in 2013, Hernandez started all 49 games from 2014 to 2017. After the 2016 season, Hernandez was a second-team All-American. After the 2017 season, Hernandez was named to the C-USA first team. He was also invited to the College Football All-Star Challenge.

Professional career

New York Giants

The

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

selected Hernandez in the second round (34th overall) of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. Hernandez was the second guard drafted in 2018, behind Notre Dame's

Quenton Nelson Quenton Emerson Nelson (born March 19, 1996) is an American football guard for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, where he was a unanimous All-American, and was selected by ...

(sixth overall). On May 12, 2018, the New York Giants signed Hernandez to a four-year, $7.45 million contract that includes $5.08 million guaranteed and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $3.49 million. Hernandez was named the Giants starting left guard to start 2018, starting all 16 games and was named to the

PFWA All-Rookie Team Following each National Football League (NFL) season, the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) compiles an honorary All-Rookie Team to recognize that season's most outstanding rookies at each position as adjudged by sportswriters of the PFWA. T ...

. On October 29, 2020, Hernandez was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Giants after he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On November 10, he returned to the active roster. However, despite his healthy return, he remained a backup for the remainder of the season, losing the starting left guard position to rookie

Shane Lemieux Shane Lemieux (born May 12, 1997) American football guard for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon. Early years Lemieux played at West Valley High School as a tight end and offensive ...

Arizona Cardinals

On March 28, 2022, the

signed Hernandez to a one-year contract. In Week 4 game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Hernandez was ejected in the fourth quarter for making contact with an official. He was placed on injured reserve on November 9, 2022. He was activated on December 17. On March 15, 2023, Hernandez signed a two-year contract extension with the Cardinals.

References

External links

twitterUTEP Miners bioNew York Giants bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Will 1995 births Living people American sportspeople of Mexican descent Players of American football from Nevada Sportspeople from Las Vegas American football offensive guards UTEP Miners football players New York Giants players Arizona Cardinals players