Make New York Post a Preferred Source Giants cornerback Greg Newsome II, and offseason free-agent addition, cover some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: How many dawgs are on this team?
Q: What is your definition of a dawg?
A: A dawg is somebody that’s trying to win at all costs, at any cost. Joe [Schoen] the GM, and freakin’ Harbs [coach John Harbaugh] and everybody, I feel like they brought all of us here together for a reason. We all have similar traits, similar personalities — guys that want to win at all costs no matter what it takes. And you don’t see that in a lot of teams. There’s teams where guys just kind of go through, ‘Ah, if we win, whatever.’ This is a team where we feel like we should win every single game.
A: For sure. I think if we stay consistent, we have great practice weeks, if we continue to just be ourselves, we for sure will be in the playoffs.
Q: Nobody on the outside believes that now.
A: Yeah, we don’t really care what people on the outside believe, at least I don’t. If you start listening to what people believe on the outside, you already lose. As long as the guys in this locker room, as long as the coaches and the people that work in this building believe, that’s all that matters. We know what we have in this building.
Q: What do you have in this building?
A: We got a bunch of elite players. We got a great team. We got great leaders, and we’ll be ready to go.
Q: When you think of Jameis Winston, what do you think of?
Q: Can you give me an example of his leadership?
A: He obviously was the backup quarterback, and he’s a captain. That already tells you what impact he has on the guys, like you never really see the quote-unquote backup quarterback that has a “C” on his jersey. Just him every single day out there on the field doing the pregame speeches and things like that and just at practice, he’s a pro, he’s one of the first people here, one of the last people to leave every day.
A: Oh, easily. … He’s proven that he can do very, very well in this league, and like I said, he’s a guy that’s seen a lot of football. I played with him in Cleveland. He made a lot of things go right. We have all the faith in the world in Jameis.
Q: What was his best pregame speech?
A: (Laugh) I feel like all his speeches are pretty good. It’s crazy because I asked him if they’re thought of. I think just him in the moment, he just has stuff that just comes to his head, he’s very good at those. When you deep dive into what he’s actually saying, I think a lot of it’s inspirational, even in preseason. I think one of his speeches he was talking about it doesn’t matter kind of where you come from, it doesn’t matter what happened before, it’s about being in the present, and that’s something that he kind of preaches all the time — just remain in present and trust in your abilities.
Q: What makes Harbaugh a great coach?
A: I think first, he’s a player’s coach. But he’s not like an ordinary player’s coach. What I mean by that is when you prove to him and show him that the players should lead a team, that’s the most successful teams. But he also puts his foot down and holds everyone accountable. I think that’s one of the most unique things about coaches is when you hold your best players accountable, it forces everybody else to be accountable. So that’s what I think I love about Harbs the most is that he holds everyone to the same standard.
Q: What has his mentality been like in the wake of Jaxson Dart going down?
A: Positivity, always. Obviously everyone feel for Jaxson, but like he kind of says is that was in the past, now we have to move on to the present.
Q: What resonated about his message this week?
A: Going into this week is just being [ourselves]. Don’t beat [yourself], that’s another thing. Make a team have to beat us. I feel like when we’re being ourselves and we force teams to drive the field and beat us and not give up anything crazy, that’s a recipe for success. Harbs is super confident, we’re super confident, and we’ll be ready to go.
Q: How do you get in a receiver’s head?
A: It’s a bunch of ways. Whether you’re talking, whether you’re putting hands on every play, finishing, being sticky in coverage, not giving ’em an inch. Feel like that’s the best way, talking a little trash here and there.
A: It really depends, like stuff just comes in my head in the moment. I really rarely talk directly to the receiver. [It’s] normally like I’m talking about them but not directly to them.
A: Yeah, walking by saying something, so it’s not directed at him, but if the shoe fits, it’s one of those mentalities. I kind of just walk by and say a little smart comment before he walks back to the huddle.
Q: How have the doubters driven you?
A: Being a kid from Chicago … first of all, they didn’t think football was really serious, so was a lower three-star recruit, went to IMG Academy to prove myself. I was one of the lowest, I think the second-lowest recruit on the team. That was just something growing up all the time, overlooked, even when I chose to go to Northwestern. I didn’t have any accolades my first two seasons at Northwestern, no All-Big Ten, no anything. That was just something that every single day, even now, that I always try to remember.
Q: Can you name the three corners who were drafted ahead of you?
A: Yeah, for sure. That’s definitely something that motivated me.
Q: Describe game day in the tunnel.
A: That’s when I start seeing red, and all the emotions come out.
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: I try to bring energy. Try to play fearless. Be a competitor, compete every single play, whether a guy catches the ball or not. Be sticky in coverage.
Q: What is so great about man-to-man?
A: Mano-a-mano. I think what’s so great is I don’t have any help, you ain’t got no help. It’s just a battle, that’s the fun part. They might catch some, but at the end of the day is can I win more than you win? So it’s definitely fun to play man-to-man coverage.
Q: How would you sum up your career so far?
A: It’s been fun. It’s been very ordinary, I would say. Hot start, playing outside corner, then getting switched to playing inside corner, and then getting switched to play outside and then get traded — it was a lot of ups and downs. I would say I’m blessed to have done all that. A lot of challenges along the way, but I think it’s made me into the player I am today, the man I am today. Now I’m back in a comfortable position, and I’m super excited.
A: When you have a staff and a coaching staff that truly believes in you, you want to succeed for them. When you got guys in the locker room that are putting their blood, sweat and tears, and they trust you, you want to show up for them. I think now being able to be in a scheme that fits me, be somewhere that I feel wanted, I feel like the best is definitely yet to come. I’m still young and I’m still willing to learn, and I’m super excited for this season.
Q: Do you consider yourself a lockdown corner?
A: Yes, for sure. I believe when I have the opportunity to play man coverage, when I have the opportunity to play on the outside and challenge guys, I feel like that’s where I’m best at. You go against a great receiver, they’re going to catch some passes, but if you look throughout an entire game and see how sticky a guy is all the time, I feel like that’s the true definition.
Q: Whatever comes to mind: Isaiah Likely?
A: Dawg. … I had to go against Isaiah Likely in the AFC North [with the Brown when Likely was with the Ravens]. And we had to put nickels on him because a lot of safeties can’t guard him, and a lot of nickels can’t guard him. Just his ability to get open against corners, safeties, he can run the entire route tree. You see he has sticky hands, and he’s a physical player. There’s not anything Isaiah Likely can’t do.
A: Another dawg. That’s a guy, you know you normally say 50/50 ball. I believe if the ball’s in the air with him, it’s an 80/20 ball. He’s great at making those spectacular catches. He’s physical, and I feel like from OTAs on, his route running has gotten even better. He’s a guy that for sure I think is going to do some great things for us this year.
Q: Is he similar to anybody you’ve gone up against?
A: He kind of reminds me of a Courtland Sutton-ish type receiver.
A: He was a top-three receiver in the league as a rookie. I remember a guy that can run every route. I remember a guy that’s fast as anybody but still strong like a running back when he catches the ball. A guy that was fearless. A guy (chuckle) that’s going to go back and forth with you on the field, and a guy that’s a competitor. He wants to win every single rep.
A: Another animal. Fearless. Physical runner, but can do a lot of other great things on the field. People see Skatt’ as this guy that tries to run everybody over, but Skatt’ can do a lot of great things, he can catch the football, when he wants to, he has elusiveness. He can do a lot of great things, so I love Skatt’ as a player.
Q: What is defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson’s leadership style?
A: Well, Dennard played. So I think he’s once again another players’ coach. I think Harbs did a great job in just having similar minds. He’s another guy that’s a straight shooter, and I gotta respect that. A guy that’s in front of the defensive meeting, if there’s something that needs to be said, he’s going to say it, and you gotta respect it. He believes in us truly. He always preaches positivity to us.
Q: If you could intercept any quarterback in NFL history, who would it be?
A: Well, my favorite quarterback ever is Peyton Manning. … I just loved everything he was about.
Q: You’re a Giant, you’re supposed to say Eli.
A: Yeah (smile), I like Eli, too, but I was a Peyton guy growing up. I ain’t gonna lie.
Q: If you could pick the brain of any cornerback in NFL history?
A: Richard Sherman. He was great at a lot of things. He wasn’t the fastest coming out of the draft, but he was very smart.
Q: Did you have other favorite corners?
A: It’s crazy, obviously I used to play on the [Browns] with him, but Denzel Ward was my favorite cornerback. … Pat P. [Patrick Peterson], Champ Bailey, Darrelle Revis, Darius Slay.
Q: How do you play in the rain and the wind?
A: I feel like that’s more a question for D-line and linebackers, because I feel like you have to kind of cater to running the ball a little bit more, things like that, but you also got to know where the wind is going. If it’s pushing at your face knowing they can throw the ball deep versus if it’s coming at their face, then you know the balls are going to be underthrown and stuff like that.
Q: Biggest adversity you had to overcome?
A: Being a 26th pick [by the Browns in 2021] and trying to prove myself, and I believe my rookie year I’m the highest-graded rookie corner there was. And then going into the second year, you’re trying to build upon that and then you get switched inside, so now you got to learn another position instead of continuing what you did as a rookie. And then going into the third year, having some more success and ups and downs and things like that, and playing nickel and then getting labeled as that. But like I said, I think that helped me be a better player at the end of the day.
A: Fatherhood’s amazing. Changed me for sure for the better. It’s got me a lot more a reason to do what I’m doing, so I love fatherhood.
A: We call him Trace. My family calls me Twice, so we call him Trace.
A: Definitely Christ for sure. I grew up in a church, that’s something that for the last few years I’ve been getting way better at, trying to read the Bible every day, be closer to the man that creates this Earth. Second is my family. Providing for them, that’s what drives me right now.
A: Just being great. Just knowing that I got the respect from my peers. I don’t really care about the respect from the media and things like that, as long as my teammates and things like that know I come out here, competed every single day, brought the energy, brought the same passion and was a consistent player, that’s all I care about.
A: My junior year. It changed a lot for a lot of people. I was mad it was COVID, but just us being a Top 10 team in the country, us finally getting the respect we deserved. It obviously changed my life for the better, allowing me to get to the NFL.
A: Jesus Christ, MLK [Martin Luther King Jr.], my wife.
A: Oh, love ’em. They’re diehard, they’re going to show up for us. And they deserve a winner. When the Giants are good in the city, the city flourishes, everyone’s happy. We’re going to put on a show for them, and I think they feel exactly what I’m saying now. I know the true Giants fans believe that.
Q: What did you think of the Knicks championship run?
A: It was amazing. I was in the building when they were down 30, I think, and came back and won that game. Seeing how that city reacts when there’s a winner is crazy, so I can only imagine.
Q: Playing on the big, bright New York stage.
A: I think that’s what I was made for. Playing in Cleveland, I love the city of Cleveland, they know that, but it’s just a small market. You don’t get to be out there in the spotlight too much, and I feel like now at this point in my career that I deserve to be in a market like this to just be able to show my talent.
Q: What would your message be to Giants fans?
A: Stay with us. Obviously we’re 1–1, but this team is going to do a lot of great things. So just continue to show up for us, we’re going to put on for you guys, and it’s going to be a great season. And just for me as a player, you guys are going to get the best version of me. I’m going to go out there every single day, try my hardest, give it my all, and show why I want to retire a Giant.
