ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – As Amani Toomer stood on the line of scrimmage Monday, every New York Giants rookie appeared to be looking his way.

Call it respect, admiration, or just a desire to learn from the man who probably will become the Giants’ all-time leading receiver this season.

“Who better to watch?” rookie David Tyree said of Toomer.

In the past four years, Toomer has turned a career that was heading nowhere into one which now ranks him among the NFL’s top receivers.

“I always look back on it because I never want to forget how I got here,” Toomer said between breaks at training camp at the University at Albany. “It took a lot of hard work and effort on my part.”

On a team that has long been known for its running game, Toomer has strung together seasons of 79, 78, 72 and 82 catches, gaining at least 1,000 yards each season. His 355 career catches are two more than running back Tiki Barber and they trail only Joe Morrison (395) and Frank Gifford (367) in a team history that starts in 1925. Toomer’s 82 catches for 1,343 yards last season were team records.

The last four years are in sharp contrast to Toomer’s first three, during which he caught 44 passes.

The lowpoint came at the end of the 1997 season, his second in the league. A knee injury had ended his first.

Minnesota had just kicked a field goal to take a 23-22 lead in the waning seconds of the wild-card game, and the Giants had time for a desperation play.

“I was running on the field and Coach (Jim Fassel) pulled me off and put in Jason Sehorn,” Toomer recalled. “He wasn’t even a receiver. For him to take me out was terrible. I said, ‘Something has to change.’ “

What changed was Toomer’s work ethic and his willingness to listen. He dropped his “I know it all” attitude, got in shape and learned there was more to catching a pass than running the right route.

Third-year cornerbacks Will Allen and Will Peterson learn about that every day against Toomer in practice.

“He plays smart,” Allen said. “He tries to set up his routes. He just doesn’t go out there and run around. He is methodical out there.”

Toomer also is physical, at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds.

“He’ll use his size to almost guard you away from the ball,” Peterson said. “He has good movement off the line, great hands and he has deceptive speed. People don’t think he’s that fast, but I’ve never seen anyone catch him from behind in any game.”

Another key to Toomer’s success has been quarterback Kerry Collins, who seems to be instinctively on the same page with the eight-year veteran from Michigan.

“He understands what he can do well,” said Collins, who has combined with Toomer for 24 TD passes. “He uses his body great … He became a student of the game and it shows by the routes he runs.”

Despite his success, Toomer has yet to be selected to the Pro Bowl or All Pro.

Those awards seem to be based on catching 100 passes, and it’s unlikely that Toomer will have that many with Collins spreading the ball around to Barber, Ike Hilliard and tight end Jeremy Shockey.

Toomer believes he can improve. His patterns can be better. He can catch the ball better. He can score more.

“I still don’t feel I’m over the hump,” said Toomer, who had four catches for 78 yards in Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage. “I still feel I have a lot left to prove to everyone around the league and on this team, too.”

AP-ES-08-04-03 1913EDT