College lecture halls are full of teachers.

So are NCAA football meeting rooms.

Giants coach Pat Shurmur hired three new assistant coaches this offseason — Everett Withers (defensive backs), Henry Baker (assistant defensive backs) and Mike Dawson (outside linebackers) — and he dipped into the college ranks every time.

Coincidence? Think again.

“These guys did a great job of teaching,” Shurmur said.

Buy Giants and other NFL Draft gear: Fanatics, NFL Shop

It is no surprise Shurmur has great respect for the college game. His son just finished a four-year run as Vanderbilt’s record-setting starting quarterback, and he is the headline speaker Friday at the Rutgers Football Coaches Clinic.

“I think there are good coaches at all levels,” Shurmur said. “It is rare that a guy goes to the high school levels (to hire a NFL coach), but there are really fine coaches in college. I talked to some really fine coaches that could have fit with our staff.”

But Shurmur’s emphasis on teaching is necessary because the Giants have a roster full of not-long-ago actual students.

Of the 65 players on the Giants as of Thursday, 27 have two years or fewer of accredited NFL experience. Seventeen were part of the 2018 NFL Draft (or Supplemental Draft), and 10 of those rookies were undrafted.

The Giants are tied for a NFL-high with 12 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, so more youth is on its way later this month.

“As a head coach, sometimes you are not in the meeting when they are doing their thing,” Shurmur said. "I’ve got confidence these guys are going to inspire these players to be great. That’s why we hired them.”

None of the three new assistants is a stranger to the NFL.

Withers was the Titans defensive backs coach from 2001-06 and had a one-year stop with the Saints earlier in his 30-year coaching career. He has head coaching experience at North Carolina, James Madison and Texas State, where he was fired after the 2018 season.

Dawson worked with Shurmur on Chip Kelly’s Eagles staffs from 2013-15. Since then, he altered a career mostly spent in the NFL by working under Scott Frost at Central Florida and Nebraska.

“I know him much like you would know a player,” Shurmur said. “I know Mike can teach pass rush along with (defensive line coach) Gary Emanuel. We just tried to define (roles) a little bit more. I like the way it is set up now.”

In between or simultaneous to jobs on college staffs at Maryland, Delaware, East Stroudsburg, Rutgers and North Carolina, Baker held internships with the Giants, Cardinals and Dolphins. He left his second stop at Rutgers to join the Giants, after previously working with defensive coordinator James Bettcher in Arizona.

“He came highly recommended and has a little bit of a track record with the Giants,” Shurmur said. “When you sit in the room and watch him teach, you say, ‘OK, this guy is going to have an impact on our players.’”

The Giants lost Lou Anarumo (Bengals defensive coordinator), Rob Leonard (Dolphins linebackers coach) and Deshea Townsend (Bears defensive backs coach) to promotions.

“I was very deliberate this time,” Shurmur said. “I’m looking for career coaches who are open-minded and understand staff mechanics and give the very best at their job to get players better.”

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.