April 28, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern offensive tackle Dylan Thiry (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) has signed a free-agent contract with the 2008 Super Bowl champion New York Giants on Sunday night. On Monday, linebacker Adam Kadela (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) received an invitation to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' mini-camp, although he has yet to sign a deal with the club.

Thiry will be reunited with former teammate Barry Cofield, a starting defensive tackle for the Giants.

Thiry started 34 games in his Northwestern career, helping pave the way for a pair of 1,000-yard rushing years by Tyrell Sutton in 2005 and 2006. Last season, Thiry helped the Northwestern offense to the top of the Big Ten in passing with 307.9 yards through the air per game.

Thiry was an integral part of the 2005 club that became just the second Big Ten club in league history to average more than 500 yards of total offense per game. Last year, Thiry helped NU rank first in Big Ten total offense during the regular season.

Earlier this year, Thiry played in the Texas vs. The Nation Collegiate All-Star game.

Kadela, one of four team captains, led the 2007 Wildcats in tackles (10.4 per game) and ranked second among all Big Ten players and 21st nationally in tackles per game. He totaled a personal-high 17 tackles in Northwestern's season-ending game at Illinois. Named one of 11 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team honorees in 2007, Kadela closed his career with 296 tackles. He was named the Wildcats' defensive player of the game three times in 2007. Kadela was a consensus honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.