Why Giants Gave Kayvon Thibodeaux a "Hard Time" During Combine Interview

Oregon pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux is no stranger to the spotlight . So if he should land in New York with the Giants, he feels he'd be ready.

As far as Oregon Ducks pass rusher Kaybvon Thibodeaux is concerned, the glare of the media spotlight that is likely to come late next month when he makes the jump from college to the NFL--presuambly as a top-5 pick no less--is no different than walking out into sunlight.

The 21-year-old Thibodeaux , who hails from Los Angeles, s no stranger to the glare of the media spotlight thanks to his freakish atheltic abilities which he said have attracted attention since he was a sophomore at Oaks Christian School in Westlake, California, just outside of Los Angeles, where he was named USA Today's "High School Football Defensive Player of the Year" as a senior in 2018.

Thibodeaux, a 2021 consensus All-American pick who capped his collegiate career with the Oregon Ducks having finished int he top-10 all three of his colelge seasons in tackles for a loss, sacks and forced fumbles, figures to experience a glare like none other once he gets to the NFL. 

And should he land in New York with, say, the Giants, a eam that just so happens to need a dominant pass rushing force, the 6-foot-5, 258-pound Thibodeaux said he's ready for that.

"I grew up in a big city," Thibodeaux said during Friday mornings media interviews at th NFL Scouting Combine. 

The outgoing and insightful Thibodeaux, who gave a well-thought-out and complete answer to every question thrown his way, revealed that the giants gave him "a bit of a hard time" about dealing with the glare of the spotlight, but then quickly added it wasn't done maliciously.

"We had a great interview," Thibordeaux said. "They were kind of on me, you know,  they were giving me a hard time. But Ifeel like it was like that 'big brother' moment where they give you a hard time because they really they're interested in you and they like you."

The Giants certainly do have every reason to like Thibodeaux, who in three seasons for the Ducks, finished with 126 tackles, 35.5 tackles for a loss, 19 sacks, 7 pass breakups and three forced fumbles.

That's the kind of production the Giants probably wouldn't mind having as they look to build up defensive coordiantor Don "wink" Martindale's defense with guys who can attack the pocket and make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks--that is, if he falls to the Giants at No. 5 where he's almsot certainly be a slam dunk pick.

Still, while Thibodeaux's produciton is enticing,t he Giatns are also being midful of ensuring any prospects they do look to draft can handle the New York market spotlight, something Thibodeaux said was part of his interview with the Giants' decision makers.

For example, Thibodeaux said the Giants asked him how he might handle things if he's not the sar he's capable of becoming five games into his rookie season or if he gets off to a slow, sackless start that could stir up fan and media criticism.

"I let 'em know, I've been in the media since I was a sophomore in high school," Thibodeaux said. "So I've been trained for this my whole life. And I know most of it is entertainment, right? So I'm not really worried because whatever happens between the four walls of the team and the organization is what's gonna dictate the future. And if I have five bad games, we're gonna focus on that next week on how we're gonna dominate the team that's next."

Thibodeaux certainly doesn't lack confidence in himself. He told reporters that he has an unsatiable thirst for knowledge and is always looking for ways to improve his game, having taken bits and pieces from NFL pass rushing greats like Von Miller, Willie McGinest and DeMarcus Ware. 

"Not only do I, I watch film, but I steal it. You know what I mean?" he aid. "So not only do I see it, but then I try to go implement it in practice. And then I have confidence. If I don't do a move, I'm gonna learn how to work that move, and I'm gonna learn how to get better at it. I'm gonna implement it in practice and then I'm gonna translate it to the game."

Kayvon Thibodeaux ripping up 27 reps on the bench pic.twitter.com/UNhbLoYezf

— Will Parkinson (@Willpa11) March 5, 2022

Speaking of moves, Thibodeaux, an avid competitor at chess, equated his pass rushing prowess to the popular sgame of strategy, noting that like in chess where one move sets up another, he uses a vairety of tools in his pass-rushing tool box to set up his pass-rush plan.  

"Chess is life and chess is football," he said. "When you talk about pass rush, I'm gonna hit you speed first. And then that's gonna set up my power moves, and then my power moves gonna set up my counter.  

"If you watch UCLA, you see me with the flash dip that came because I was hitting with speed. And then I was hitting with the long arm. So I wouldn't have been able do the flash dip if I didn't hit him with the long arm.  

"So just being able to kind of dictate--it's like a heavyweight match. You've been giving them the jab, jab, jab, then you wanna come with a hook, you wanna change it up. So just having that longevity and when the fourth quarter comes, you gotta put it all together."

As far as Oregon Ducks pass rusher Kaybvon Thibodeaux is concerned, the media spotlight that is likely to come late next month when he makes the jump from college to the NFL is no different than walking into the sunlight.

The 21-year-old Los Angeles native is no stranger to the glare of the media spotlight. Thanks to his freakish athletic abilities on the football gridiron, Thibodeaux has regularly drawn attention since he was a sophomore at Oaks Christian School just outside of Los Angeles.

The 2018 USA Today's "High School Football Defensive Player of the Year" and 2021 consensus All-American said he's taken the attention in stride.

"I grew up in a big city," Thibodeaux said during Friday morning's media interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine. "So that would be nothing new to me."

That's why Thibodeaux, who capped his collegiate career by finishing in the top-10 in the Pac-12 all three of his college seasons in tackles for a loss, sacks, and forced fumbles, isn't worried about the pitfalls that can accompany the New York market should he land with the Giants.

Thibodeaux, who gave a well-thought-out and complete answer to every question thrown his way, revealed that the Giants, who just so happen to need a dominant pass-rushing force, gave the 6-foot-5, 258-pound "a bit of a hard time" about dealing with the spotlight. However, he quickly added that it wasn't done maliciously.

"We had a great interview," Thibodeaux said. "They were kind of on me, you know, they were giving me a hard time. But I feel like it was like that 'big brother' moment where they give you a hard time because they really they're interested in you, and they like you."

The Giants certainly do have every reason to like Thibodeaux, who in three seasons for the Ducks, finished with 126 tackles, 35.5 tackles for a loss, 19 sacks, seven pass breakups, and three forced fumbles.

That's the kind of production the Giants probably wouldn't mind having as they look to build up defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale's defense with guys who can attack the pocket and make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.

While Thibodeaux's production is enticing on its own merit, the Giants are also mindful of ensuring any prospects they do look to draft can handle the New York market spotlight, which Thibodeaux said was part of his interview with the Giants' decision-makers.

For example, Thibodeaux said the Giants asked him how he might handle things if he's not the star he's capable of becoming five games into his rookie season or if he gets off to a slow, sackless start that could stir up fan and media criticism.

"I let 'em know like I've been in the media since I was a sophomore in high school, you know?" Thibodeaux said. "So I've been trained for this my whole life. And I know most of it is entertainment, right? So I'm not worried because whatever happens between the four walls of the team and the organization is what's gonna dictate the future. And if I have five bad games, we're gonna focus on that next week on how we're gonna dominate the team that's next."

Thibodeaux certainly doesn't lack confidence in himself. He told reporters that he has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and is always looking for ways to improve his game, having taken bits and pieces from NFL pass-rushing greats like Von Miller, Willie McGinest, and DeMarcus Ware.

"Not only do I watch film, but I steal it. You know what I mean?" he said. "So not only do I see it, I try to implement it in practice. And then I have confidence. If I don't do a move, I'm going to learn how to work that move, and I'm going to learn how to get better at it. I'm gonna implement it in practice, and then I'm gonna translate it to the game."

Thibodeaux, an avid competitor at chess, equated his pass-rushing prowess to chess, where one move sets up another.

"When you talk about pass rush, I'm gonna hit you speed first. And then that's gonna set up my power moves, and then my power moves gonna set up my counter," he said.

"If you watch UCLA, you see me with the flash dip that came because I was hitting with speed. And then I was hitting with the long arm. So I wouldn't have been able to do the flash dip if I didn't hit him with the long arm.

"So just being able to kind of dictate--it's like a heavyweight match. You've been giving them the jab, and then you want to ... change it up. So ... when the fourth quarter comes, you gotta put it all together."

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