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Giants running back Rashad Jennings had no clue the NFL began testing for HGH.

(Jordan Raanan, NJ Advance Media)

EAST RUTHERFORD -- The NFL began testing its players for Human Growth Hormone on Monday. Problem is not all of its players were aware.

Giants running back Rashad Jennings, about as thoughtful and articulate a player as you'll find in an NFL locker room, chuckled when asked if he was selected for the testing. Jennings had a Band Aid on his right forearm as if blood had just been drawn.

"Haha. Nah, we had a little Quest Diagnostics [blood test] that we had to catch up on," Jennings said with a big laugh.

"HGH," he chuckled.

When told that the question was serious, Jennings was taken aback. He was stunned when reporters informed him that the league had, in fact, begun testing.

"Is it?" he said. "They're testing for that now? Really?"

Yep. Pro Football Talk reported that the NFL will conduction 950 HGH tests in the preseason, regular season and postseason. Another 385 in the offseason. That's 1,300 total every year, a large number in comparison to other sports.

The way it works is that, each week, a computer randomly selects five teams. Eight players from those five teams (either from the active roster or practice squad) will be subject to testing.

"I learned something new today," Jennings said. "They're really testing for that?"

It goes to show how uninformed some of the league's players are on the drug-testing policy. Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie, just a few lockers down from Jennings, is the team's player rep. Linebacker Mark Herzlich and DeOssie are on the NFLPA's executive committee.

If Jennings doesn't know about the HGH testing, it's probably a safe guess that most players don't know. With that being the case, it will be interesting to see the results.

Jennings, who is currently nursing a knee injury, is as health-conscious as they come. The 230-pound back is obsessive about taking care of his body and is gluten-free and casein-free. He's known as a workout fiend.

The veteran running back appeared curious about how the testing is going to work out. From the sound of it, he thinks it's going to make a significant impact.

"That changes a lot," he said.

Even if Jennings and most of the players don't know about it right now. Soon enough, they will.

Jordan Raanan may be reached at jraanan@nj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.