Herzlich is happy to Champion Coughlin’s cause

GIANTS LINEBACKER Mark Herzlich never met Jay McGillis, the late Boston College safety who died of leukemia and inspired Tom Coughlin‘s Jay Fund Foundation. But he heard his inspiring story, long before he was forced to begin his own cancer fight.

“When you get to Boston College as a player, one of the first things you’re told about is Jay’s story and his fight, because his fight was so great,” Herzlich said yesterday. “After I was diagnosed with cancer, my understanding for what he went through became even greater.”

Herzlich will be one of many Giants helping out the “Champions for Children” gala at Cipriani in Manhattan on Oct. 28. The Jay Fund was established by Coughlin to help families of children who are diagnosed with cancer.