A few weeks before it became clear Mike Pope would not be retained as Tom Coughlin’s tight end coach, he sat in the Giants’ locker room last winter lamenting the state of the NFL and how difficult it has become to invest in a long-term project.

“These days you usually can’t afford to take someone from a small school you might need to work with for a little bit before he becomes a player,” Pope said after the Giants had started 0-6 but finished 7-9. “Everyone needs to prove themselves in a hurry these days. This kid here is a dying breed.”

The kid Pope was referring to was tight end Larry Donnell, who originally signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent out Grambling in 2012 and has progressed from the practice squad to the starting lineup to become an early contributor to the 2014 season. He caught six passes for 45 yards in the Giants’ 30-17 victory over the Texans Sunday at MetLife Stadium and his team-high 18 receptions for 182 yards and one touchdown overall has eased preseason concerns about the lack of proven production at tight end.

Pope, 72, might have moved on to Dallas, where he is serving as the Cowboys’ tight ends coach, but the only assistant for all five of the Giants’ Super Bowls has left the organization with perhaps his final protégé in Donnell.

“Coach Pope was one of a kind,” Donnell said Tuesday. “Every time I stepped on the field, he trained you to do it just the way he taught you to do it. You listened to what he had to say because he’s coached the best here.”

Pope’s firing after last season was based more on the simple need for change than performance. It wasn’t his fault the Giants’ offense was broken. In his 23 years as a Giants assistant stretched over two stints, he has tutored Mark Bavaro, Zeke Mowatt, Howard Cross, Jeremy Shockey, and gotten the best out of Kevin Boss and Jake Ballard. Those wondering why Martellus Bennett is developing into a potential All-Pro in Chicago forget he spent a year under Pope.

“I just feel blessed he took the time to work with me,” Donnell said. “I’m blessed the Giants gave me a chance.”

It was Pope’s contention you won’t see many players like Donnell anymore. The draft is only seven rounds and the new collective bargaining agreement along with the salary cap have made it necessary for just about every player on the roster to be an early contributor in some fashion.

Practices are limited. So are reps. There’s not much time to work with a player unless he’s going to play on Sunday.

It’s why small schools such as Grambling, once fertile with pro talent, are mostly overlooked as scouts and general managers see more certainty in drafting players from major conferences that have played against top-level competition. On Thursday night, the Giants play at Washington, where perhaps Grambling’s most famous player, quarterback Doug Williams, led the franchise to the Super Bowl title in 1987.

A hotbed for pro talent in the 1970s, 1980s and even the 1990s, Grambling has had just three players drafted in the last 13 years. It’s symbolic of many small schools and historically black colleges that have seen a dropoff in talent and interest from pro scouts.

“It’s tough to get noticed,” said Donnell, who was raw when he came to the Giants. “Back in the day, Grambling was known for the pro talent it produced. Now it’s hard to get a look if you’re from an [historically black college or university]. There’s a lot of talent. But sometimes you’ve got to go through the back door to look out the front door.”

Donnell, 25, is starting to knock doors down. He is gaining the confidence of quarterback Eli Manning and more importantly a coaching staff that has taken pride in his development.

Somewhere in Dallas, Pope is smiling, too.