Pat Ricard blocking for Cam Skattebo <\/a>behind Sisi Mauigoa.<\/p>\nA: (Laugh) That\u2019s definitely gonna be a sight to see. Everybody\u2019s obviously trying to picture it, but seeing it in practice, definitely have fun stopping it. Enjoy that.<\/p>\n
Q: Skattebo.<\/p>\n
A: I\u2019ll say energetic. Obviously, you guys see Skatt from an off-the-field standpoint, but I feel like when Skatt puts his shoulder pads and helmets on, he\u2019s definitely all about ball, he\u2019s definitely a crazy man, but he definitely loves football.<\/p>\n
Q: How does the talent level on this team stack up with your Ravens teams?<\/p>\n
A: I feel like we\u2019re young and talented, obviously. A lot of I guess, like, vets that are very young on this team. Brian Burns is 28, 29, Mane\u2019s [Tremaine Edmunds] probably 28, 29 as well. A.T. [Andrew Thomas] is 29, somewhere around there. Quite a young older vet crowd. Obviously they\u2019ve played a lot of games. And in Baltimore, the vets were really vets. They were about 32, 33. I played with as old as Calais Campbell [36 in 2022]. So just taking that aspect and understand that everybody here is really hungry for wins. Obviously, in the past, the Giants haven\u2019t been a very playoff-friendly team, hearing the stories about it. So trying to bring a winning culture here, trying to see everybody\u2019s fire in their eyes to really get better day in and day out.<\/p>\n
Q: You see fire in their eyes?<\/p>\n
A: Absolutely, day in and day out.<\/p>\n
Q: You heard the stories about what in the past?<\/p>\n
A: How the seasons prior have been. Obviously, I haven\u2019t been here for the last four years, so hearing the seasons prior, hearing basically like how their day to days was, whether it was practice, meetings, etc., and then how it\u2019s so much more different now that [coach John] Harbaugh\u2019s here.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo behind the scenes with Big Blue\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Giants by Paul Schwartz, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Q: What are some Harbaugh sayings in the meeting room.<\/p>\n
A: Really just having a 1-0 mentality day in and day out. Always keeping the major details really just \u2026 simple. At the end of the day, winning football\u2019s winning football, and how do you get to that point? And it\u2019s stacking hard days day in and day out, and really just being yourself day in and day out.<\/p>\n
Q: Does he use humor in the meeting rooms?<\/p>\n
A: For the most part. Obviously, he\u2019ll be a little serious, but he\u2019ll throw in a smile here and there.<\/p>\n
Q: Any jokes?<\/p>\n
A: Yeah, he jokes. I can\u2019t really name a joke off the top of my head, but he definitely has some.<\/p>\n
Q: Is he funny?<\/p>\n
A: Yeah. It\u2019s like \u2014 I don\u2019t want to say grandpa humor \u2014 but it\u2019s like an older crowd humor, but he definitely gets a chuckle out of me every now and then (smile).<\/p>\n
Q: OC Matt Nagy.<\/p>\n
A: Well-spoken. Knows a lot about the offense, knows a lot about offense in general. Really just trying to put best players in their best positions to be able to show their talents, and be able to play everybody in the positions to be able to put a lot of points on the board.<\/p>\n
Q: What drives you?<\/p>\n
A: I\u2019ll say family, and then myself. I feel like the biggest motivator you should ever have in your corner is you \u2019cause nobody\u2019s gonna love and critique you as hard as you are yourself. Really just knowing every time I look in that mirror there\u2019s always something to get better at and always remember as much as you critique yourself to show yourself as much love.<\/p>\n
Q: Why do you wear No. 9?<\/p>\n
A: My favorite number was four, I learned that four was retired coming here, so when I got here, I wanted to pick a number that was kind of sentimental to me, and then I realized in 2022, I was the ninth tight end taken. So I was like, \u201cThat\u2019s a good reason to get this number.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: Did that motivate you?<\/p>\n
A: I\u2019ll say in the moment. Looking back on the draft, obviously I was a little upset [fourth round, 139th overall], but I never tried to question what God has in store for me or the plan that He has going in front of me, so I just put my head down and told myself, like, \u201cJust make them regret it or make them remember why they\u2019ll always remember your name at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: You had a visit before the draft with the Jets.<\/p>\n
A: I came in with one of my best friends, Lewis Cine, another player, Jermaine Johnson. Saw their whole facility, talked to the OC, DC, owners, GMs. I liked it, but I\u2019m here now (laugh).<\/p>\n
Giants\u2019 Isaiah Likely (9) pulls in a catch during training camp on Monday, August 10, 2026, at the Quest Diagnostics Center in East Rutherford, NJ. Corey Sipkin for NY Post<\/p>\n
Q: Did you think they were interested enough to draft you?<\/p>\n
A: At the time I did, but I\u2019ve learned quick and in a hurry in this league that you never know.<\/p>\n
Q: Didn\u2019t Ray Lewis once compliment you on your stiff-arm?<\/p>\n
A: (Laugh) Yeah. My guy Ray. I talked to him quite a bit when I was over there in Baltimore. Always told me I was a great competitor, I never shied away from the moment, and that he loved watching me play.<\/p>\n
Q: Why do you wear gray sweats in practice without pads?<\/p>\n
A: I love wearing sweatpants in general. I usually roll up my sweatpants when it gets a little hot, and I like the Capri vibe. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been doing since rookie year.<\/p>\n
Q: Cody Paul?<\/p>\n
A: If you\u2019re a little kid, you definitely watched his highlights growing up. You\u2019ll have to search on YouTube.<\/p>\n
Q: I noticed it on your social media.<\/p>\n
A: Craziest highlight you\u2019ve ever seen as a Little League player. You would have thought he was the next \u2026 Barry Sanders, Devin Hester, everybody all wrapped in one.<\/p>\n
Q: How did you come across it?<\/p>\n
A: It was like a Tavon Austin highlight. It was one of those you\u2019ve seen it, you just didn\u2019t know it was Cody.<\/p>\n
Q: Why did that capture your imagination?<\/p>\n
A: Growing up, being a skill position, obviously holding the ball a lot, when you watch it, you\u2019ll just see, like, the moves he\u2019s putting on \u2014 whether it\u2019s kick return, punt return in Little League, doing reverses, catching the ball \u2014 it was just like one of those, like, \u201cI wonder if this is what the league looks like.\u201d It was one of those moments. I watched Cody since, I want to say, freshman year of high school.<\/p>\n
Q: Could you have been an NBA player?<\/p>\n
A: (Laugh) Not at 6-4\u2009\u00b9\/\u2082 . I don\u2019t think I would be able to run around with Steph Curry all day.<\/p>\n
Giants\u2019 Isaiah Likely (9), quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) and tight end Theo Johnson (84) walk on the field during training camp at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on Monday, August 3, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
Q: You played three positions in high school.<\/p>\n
A: I did. I\u2019m probably \u2014 not probably \u2014 I am the best basketball player on this team. But it\u2019s definitely levels when it comes to basketball (laugh).<\/p>\n
Q: Hoops has helped you as a football player.<\/p>\n
A: High-pointing a basketball is the same thing as high-pointing a football. Trying to go for a rebound, trying to go for a dunk, just being able to jump and land as safe as possible, and obviously playing on a football field when you high-point a ball just being able to stay on your feet and be able to have run after catch.<\/p>\n
Q: Describe your wife Melanie.<\/p>\n
A: The GOAT. We eloped. Love of my life. Would do it all over again just to see her smile again.<\/p>\n
Q: Three dinner guests?<\/p>\n
A: Jesus Christ, my grandmama [Madea], my daddy.<\/p>\n
Q: Tell me about Madea.<\/p>\n
A: That\u2019s my GOAT. She was like my first superhero. She raised my momma, which is my next superhero. But she was the fire in everything I did. She was probably always the hardest on me when it came to sports, whether it was good or bad. She was always my No. 1 supporter, and she had my back like no other. She didn\u2019t care. I could have gotten sent home for missing homework or something, and she\u2019d always give me an excuse in front of anybody, but no, when I got home I always got in trouble, but she had my back through thick and thin.<\/p>\n
Q: When did she pass?<\/p>\n
A: In February [2025].<\/p>\n
Q: Favorite movies?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cFriday,\u201d \u201cSpongeBob\u201d \u2014 that hits home when he sings Goofy Goobers \u2014 \u201cJohn Q.\u201d with Denzel Washington.<\/p>\n
Q: Favorite meal?<\/p>\n
A: Chicken fingers and french fries.<\/p>\n
Q: You are confident that the best is yet to come.<\/p>\n
A: Absolutely. I feel like I\u2019ve barely even scratched the surface on what I can do in the league, and then obviously having the injury [foot fracture] I had last year, just being able to have both feet back up under myself, no pun intended, just being able to go out there and remind everybody what I do at an elite level.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you think of playing on the big and bright New York stage?<\/p>\n
A: I love playing in front of any crowd, home or away. I feel like when I\u2019m in between them white lines, I put on a show regardless. So it\u2019s just me being me and having fun when I\u2019m out there.<\/p>\n
Q: Are you Likely or unlikely to be a fan favorite?<\/p>\n
A: I\u2019ll say Likely. I try to be myself every day, every play, every moment. I just try to be where my feet are, and try to put a smile on everybody\u2019s face I come across.<\/p>\n
Q: Goals?<\/p>\n
A: Just to go out there and win. I feel like when you\u2019re out there winning, obviously if I\u2019m out there doing what I\u2019m supposed to do at a high level, all the accolades that I want for myself will happen, but at the end of the day, the point is, we\u2019re trying to win a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Giants tight end Isaiah Likely catches up with Post columnist Steve Serby for some training camp Q&A:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":974037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2067],"tags":[117,7,519,1012,1917,56,2321,2469,6,128035,46040,9],"class_list":["post-974036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-giants","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-football","tag-giants","tag-jim-harbaugh","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-giants","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkgiants","tag-nfl","tag-ravenswood","tag-serbys-qa","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117100841769439673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=974036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/974037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=974036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=974036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=974036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}