“Hard Knocks,” the HBO behind-the-scenes series that chronicled the Giants’ offseason, gave football fans a peek behind the scenes at some of the big decisions general manager Joe Sean and his staff made this spring.
Some lesser-known decision-makers have also become stars, such as college area scout Hannah Barnett, who made quite an impression in the show’s second episode, which aired Tuesday night.
Burnett was on a microphone for several scenes in the second episode, including one where he explained the importance of the pre-NFL Combine meeting between scouting departments.
“The important thing in the pre-combine meeting is to first evaluate the type of person the player is. You can’t let that slide when the time comes and make sure you understand the type of person you’re bringing onto your team,” Barnett explained in the scene.
Her appearance on “Hard Knocks” has fans clamoring to know more about Scout.
A native of New York, Burnett grew up in Huntington on the north shore of Long Island and attended Huntington High School, where he played varsity lacrosse, soccer and basketball.
After graduating, Burnett played Division I lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he set the school record for most points in a game and served as captain. During his 2018 senior season.
Her path to the NFL began in earnest as an events operations intern during Bills training camp in 2017, which then evolved into an internship at the league offices in Manhattan.
She took a job with the Falcons in 2018 as a scouting assistant and coordinator.
She joined the Giants organisation in 2020 as the club’s Midlands regional scout, becoming the first full-time female scout in Giants history.
“I completely understand and recognize that this is a great opportunity and it’s important for women in the league,” she said at the time of her hiring, “but I’ve said from the beginning: Like everybody else, I just want to go out there and do my job like a professional, and if I do my job well, everything will be fine.” Barnett was hired by the Giants two years later under then-general manager Dave Gettleman.
In Newsday’s 2022 video feature, three players were reported to have been scouted for the Giants, including safety Dane Belton and linebacker Ellerson Smith. He was then selected for the team.
Earlier this year, assistant general manager Brandon Brown praised Burnett during a press conference discussing the selection of Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin.
“She did a fantastic job playing Tyler for the second year in a row,” Brown said in May. “Last year we didn’t know if he was going to be available. … Hannah did a fantastic job playing Tyler. [evaluation] The same goes for other local scouts and national scouts.”
