Giants sixth-round pick Corey Ballentine has been released from the hospital, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The cornerback was shot in the glute early on Sunday morning in a tragic incident that took the life of his former Washburn teammate Dwane Simmons. 

Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery and Giants GM Dave Gettleman recently said that he is expected to attend the team’s rookie minicamp later this week. Of course, it’ll still be a bit before he is cleared to resume football activities.

From a football perspective, the Giants are excited to see what Ballentine can bring to the table. A two-sport star in high school, Ballentine managed to make a name for himself at a small Division-II school. His wingspan, athleticism, and kick return ability had some evaluators pegging him for the fourth round, but the Giants managed to snag him later in the day on Saturday.

Corey Ballentine, whom the Giants selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft yesterday, was shot in central Topeka just hours later, per Erika Hall of WIBW.com. Ballentine, a cornerback from Washburn, is expected to make a full recovery, and he could recover in a matter of weeks, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Officers responded to reports of gunshots around 12:45am. Ballentine and Dwane Simmons, another Washburn football player, were both shot, but while Ballentine suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Simmons, 23, passed away in the street. Ballentine was taken to an area hospital.

The Giants have released the following statement (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post on Twitter):

“We are aware of the tragic situation and continue to gather information. We have spoken to Corey, and he is recovering in the hospital. Our thoughts are with Dwane Simmons’ family, friends and teammates and the rest of the Washburn community.”

Tyler Greever of WIBW says that Ballentine was very close to Simmons, and that Ballentine was supposed to discuss being selected by the Giants at 3pm today (Twitter links). Obviously, the interview has been postponed.

Ballentine has the athletic ability to eventually compete for a significant role in the Giants’ defensive backfield, and hopefully he will be able to bounce back from this tragic turn to the start of his professional career.

We here at PFR offer our condolences to Simmons’ friends and family.