Will Hernandez arrived at the University of Texas-El Paso as a 17-year-old and left five years later as an NFL draft pick.

“I basically grew up there,” the Giants left guard said.

So when Hernandez heard the news about the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso on Saturday, which left at least 22 people dead and many more injured, it came as a shock and hit too close to home.

“That city is really important to me,” Hernandez said Monday after practice. “I love the people in El Paso. It gave me so much. It put me on the path that led me to the NFL. El Paso’s very dear to my heart. I felt that even being here.”

Hernandez said he immediately reached out to his close friends who still live there when he learned about the shooting, needing to make sure they were all safe, and they were. He plans on staying in communication with them in the coming days and seeing if there is anything he can do to help out.

For now, Hernandez is left thinking of them from afar, though he believes the city will come through it together.

“I know the people of El Paso, I know the kind of character they have,” Hernandez said. “They’re strong people. They’re not the type to just let something like that completely tear them down. They’re strong people and I know they’ll rally and get through this. They’ll get stronger from this.”

Hernandez said UTEP is a big part of El Paso and helps give the city a small-town feeling. Everybody, he said, comes to watch the Miners play on Saturdays in the fall, which only adds to the connection he feels to the community.

“This is just something that doesn’t matter why it happened,” said Hernandez, who is of Mexican-American heritage. “The intentions or whatever, honestly I could care less. The thing that I do care about is all those families that were affected and the people that were affected by this. That’s what I really care about and how much people are hurting.”

Golden Tate will be in Manhattan on Tuesday to appeal his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy. Tate said in a statement last month he believes he has a strong case, insisting he tested positive because of a prescription he briefly took after seeing a specialist for fertility planning.

“He may have to leave practice a little early, but it’s kind of an important thing that he needs to go do,” head coach Pat Shurmur said.

B.J. Hill was excused from practice for the birth of his son. … Michael Thomas and Zak DeOssie were excused to tend to NFL Players Association duties. … The Giants cut offensive lineman and college shot putter Austin Droogsma, who was trying to make the practice squad, and signed OG Malcolm Bunche.