Giants safety Jevon Holland tackles some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: A Jevon Holland postgame quote to me last week: "I love New York, I want to stay here, finish my career here."
A: I just love the environment, man, the people in the facility, the facility itself, the fans, the players on the team. I feel loved and wanted and this is like an organization that really cares about the people that are on the team. And I love being a part of that. And I really want to bring success and a Super Bowl and wins to this organization.
Q: What is your superpower as a safety?
A: That's a great question. I would like to say my critical thinking skills.
New York Giants safety Jevon Holland (8) reacts as he walks off the field at the end of the second half at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday, September 27, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Q: If you could match wits against any quarterback in NFL history, who would it be?
A: I would love to play Drew Brees, that would be extremely fun. I'd love to play Peyton Manning. That would be fun, too. I would love playing a gunslinger like [Dan] Marino. He was letting the ball sing.
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: Run to the ball. That's my on-field mentality: Run to the ball, run to the ball, run to the ball, run to the ball. Good things happen when you run to the ball. If you run to the ball, the ball will find you. That's what I think about all the time — run to the ball, run to the ball, run to the ball. Whenever I start running to the ball, I start playing better.
Q: A Jevon Holland postgame quote to me last Sunday: "They tried to tell me that I am not who I think I am, and I am who I think I am, and I'm proud of myself for that."
A: I've had six defensive coordinators in six years, four head coaches, something crazy like that. Every year I feel like I've just been asked to do something different. There was a time where I felt like I was doing everything right and things just weren't falling my way, and just like battling some injuries, but no serious crazy injuries, just like a sprain here, a sprain there that was just bugging me, not allowing me to just play my game in a full capacity. It wasn't specific people in general, I know who I am as a player, and what I've been working at and trying to accomplish, and I just felt like this year this is who I am as a player. And I'm not talking about the turnovers in general, but just like doing the right s–t. I've been doing the right thing for a long time, and the ball's coming my way just 'cause the football gods are allowing it. But I feel like this year I've been on my s–t . I feel good, I feel good about it.
Q: You just had a month that Ed Reed would have been proud of
A: Man, if I could have a month that Ed Reed would be proud of … shoutout to Ed Reed, bro, the greatest of all time.
Q: What drives you?
A: What drives my desire to play the game? I honestly don't know. I just have this innate feeling that I have to play the game. It's almost unconscious. You know when you see people like play a game or whatever and they just kind of blank out? There's this anime character, he's in Demon Slayer and he goes like unconscious and he's like super powerful, and so I just feel like that's me. When I get out there, I'm not thinking about much, I'm thinking about run to the ball, but I just have to compete at a high level and I can't half-ass. … The desire to play, the fire to play is just burning inside me.
Q: How does John Harbaugh motivate?
A: I feel like Harbaugh speaks life into people . He speaks that fury into people. Kind of like a commander about to lead individuals into war.
Q: Describe defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson's leadership style.
A: Very similar. They're not sending out the troops in the front. No, they're like the first ones on their horse in the front. And you can hear the conviction and the passion in their voice and the belief that they have in us.
New York Giants safety Jevon Holland (8) celebrates with teammates after intercepting the ball for the final play of the game during the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans at MetLife Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Q: What are you most proud of about Jevon Holland the man?
A: I'm proud of how I carry myself. But I'm proud of the relationship that I've built with my fiancé [Amanda] and the man that I'm becoming because of our relationship and us growing together. And I think that type of love is gonna be something that I'm able to really grow when I start having kids and becoming a father.
Q: How did you meet her?
A: Internet cafe … almost four years ago.
Q: Any marriage plans?
A: I proposed in Barcelona [Spain] in February, and we're planning on getting married in 2028.
Q: You started reading self-help books in 2023.
A: I do a lot of things off of intuition. I started reading self-help books and then I went to therapy and whatnot.
Q: What did you get out of therapy?
A: Therapy, in my opinion, is just speaking to somebody, and that person has the tools to be able to guide you deeper into your feelings and thoughts. Not necessarily somebody that you go to for answers, but the answers are already within your thought process in your mind and you just need somebody to help you weave your way into your mind in a deeper thought process.
Q: Why did you feel the need to go to therapy?
A: My mind was just telling me, "You know, you should probably talk to somebody and figure out why you're feeling the way you're feeling."
Q: And how were you feeling?
A: This was like three or four years ago. I was feeling bad then, a close friend of mine had passed away. … I wasn't feeling bad, I was just feeling indifferent. It was during the offseason, so I had really time to think and I was like, "You know what? This is probably important for me to go talk to somebody right now, 'cause I don't really know what I'm feeling or how I'm feeling, but I'm sure somebody who knows what this is called can help me in a way."
New York Giants safety Jevon Holland (8) intercepts the ball during the second half at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday, September 27, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Q: How long did you see this person for?
A: About six months on or off whenever I needed it. I really took up journaling as an important part of my therapy just to get the thoughts on paper out of my mind. If I'll feel bad about something, I'll write something down, and then, once it's out, it's not a part of me anymore, I'll rip the page out, crumple it up and throw it away, 'cause I don't need it no more.
Q: What is your "captain" style?
A: Meet every player where they're at. Every player's gonna have a different version of how they like to be led. But getting to know each player. And I think meeting every player where they're at, or meeting them halfway, it makes me have to really get to know that person in order for them to hear me. 'Cause some people aren't gonna respond to yelling in a positive manner, some people aren't gonna respond to me just coming up to 'em and talking to 'em in a positive manner. Some guys like getting called out, things like that. I like meeting players in a space that they're in so that they're in a position or in a space to hear me instead of like jus,t "Yeah OK, whatever," and then moving on, you know?
Q: Whatever comes to mind: Arvell Reese.
A: Violent, just a dawg. I'm loving how he's playing and how he's grown . Such an intelligent kid, and he's really gonna be something super special. He's already special, he's gonna be something great as the years come down the line.
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Q: Abdul Carter.
A: Just an explosive, just Tasmanian Devil, just wrecking crew, man. I'm excited to see him continue to get to the quarterback.
Q: Isaiah Likely.
A: The way he plays to me, he's just like a slippery … finds the pocket, gets the ball, gets upfield. … He's funny too, he has like nice little celebrations or whatnot, we're locker buddies. He's a great dude, I love how he plays, his passion.
Q: Jameis Winston.
A: Preacher man.
Q: If you could cover any tight end in NFL history, who would it be?
A: Probably Jeremy Shockey because he just looks like a dawg, he just looks like he was running people over, that would probably be fun to go against Jeremy Shockey. Or, let's see: Antonio Gates, Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker. I really liked Delanie Walker when I was younger.
Q: What is the biggest adversity you had to overcome?
A: I sprained my MCL in 2023. It wasn't like surgical or anything like that, but it was just tough because I had never been away from the game for that long against my will. That's something that I had to navigate and understand what a process to recovery is, how prehab helped me not be out for as long and then getting back to that point of playing well, not feeling anything, etc., etc.
Miami Dolphins' Jevon Holland (8) runs off the field at halftime against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Diamond Images/Getty Images
Q: You got a degree in ethnic studies.
A: I knew that I wanted to work with people later in life in whatever capacity, and the way that our ethnic studies was built at Oregon was studying different demographics of people, and where they came from, who they are, and how they're affected today, different walks of life. I felt like that was just something that was calling me.
Q: You're not afraid to take a stand about controversial stuff.
A: Yeah, 'cause it's human things, man. A lot of the time people don't see football players as humans 'cause it's the closest thing to like gladiators, in a sense. It's crazy to say like, "Aw, man, just play football." It's like, bro, I still pay taxes. I commute just like you commute. I have to make dinner just like you make dinner. I'm literally just a regular human guy, I just happen to play football, and I've been training my whole life to play this specific thing, but I'm not gonna tell you like, "Shut up and file my taxes if you're a tax attorney," I'm not gonna do that. These are just human issues that everyone has opinions on. You're either for or against, and sometimes in tough situations, being neutral is actually being for because you're not speaking up about the injustice and the negativities that are happening in the world. I think it's important to talk about human-related issues 'cause we're all humans.
Q: You plan on going back to school?
A: I would definitely get a master's degree in something, philosophy maybe, that would be sick. Getting a master's degree in philosophy would be cool, talking about all the different philosophers and their thought process and how they have affected and curated the overall thought process and philosophy of the western world.
Q: Tell me about your grandfather Merlyn Hooker.
A: My grandfather is the foundation of who I am. The GOAT. His demeanor, the respect that he had from my other family members, how he treated my grandmother and how he raised my mom and my aunt. He used to pick me up from school, we used to watch old Westerns all the time, we used to go to the movies and bowl. He was living a full life. He retired early, military veteran. And when I was a kid and we lived with my grandparents, my grandpa was doing all type of things. They were traveling all the time, he collected Beanie Babies and baseball cards. He had his own bowling ball, we would bowl every Thursday, we'd go to the movies every Friday, and he was into all types of different foods. He collected art and knick-knacks. He was so well-rounded.
Q: Your father's influence?
A: My father [John] is the reason that I play the game. He trained me as an adolescent. As a kid, he trained me. I'm very similar to my Pops, just in like small inside jokes and stuff, fun, creative thought process.
Giants safety Jevon Holland (8) celebrates with a teammate after intercepting a pass in the end zone with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter of a game against the Tennessee Titans at MetLife Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Q: Does anyone call you Snowman?
A: Yeah, some people do. I think it's cool. I'm from Canada. Number 8 looks like the snowman emoji on iPhone.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Merlyn Hooker, King Tut, Fred Hampton.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: Eddie Griffin, "Undercover Brother."
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Denzel Washington.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Anne Hathaway .
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: J. Cole.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Oven roasted adobo chicken with red kidney beans and white rice.
Q: Favorite New York restaurant?
A: Medüza Mediterranean.
Q: The '86 Giants will be honored on Sunday.
A: Hopefully they can sprinkle some pixie dust or whatever superhero juice they got or whatever energy they got for us so we can try to accomplish the same thing that they accomplished .
Q: What would you tell Giants fans about this team and this defense?
A: I would just tell 'em to keep on coming to the games, keep supporting us. I know things could look gloomy, Jaxson [Dart] went down and [Brian] Burns went down. There's still so much passion, so many great players on this team still. We need them more now than we did ever. We need them because they're also part of us. They're one-third of the three important parts of a successful team — the organization is one, and the organization loves the players and they buy into the players, whatever we need, whatever helps the team they're helping us. Whatever hurts the team, we're not doing. The players and coaches is the second aspect of the team. Those are the people who are out there, we're out there on Sunday, we're playing our heart out. And the third aspect are the fans. And they surround the other two aspects, and they help us both with momentum, they keep us up when we're down and they spring us even higher when we're up. So keep supporting us 'cause we need you guys.
