Giants' Jason Pinnock, Tyler Nubin have bonded through relationships with their fathers

When Giants safety Jason Pinnock met rookie safety Tyler Nubin, the two easily found common ground.

Yes, they were instant teammates, but it was more than that.

Pinnock, who is  in his fourth season, said the two spoke about their fathers, who have been driving forces in their lives and always challenged them to strive for excellence.

“I think it helped us bond because when you have [a father] who is very present and very active, I think it brings two things — accountability as a man and just the ability to communicate at a high level,” Pinnock said. “I can talk to [Nubin] when he messes up, and it’s all absorption and no deflection. And the same thing vice versa. And that initiates relationships and learning about each other.”

Their fathers were firm, and both players said they were better for it.

“We laugh all the time now, because I wasn’t getting compliments [from my father] until I was getting paid for what I was doing,” Pinnock said Friday. “He coached me from when I was 6 and put my first helmet on. Still got the pictures when he walked me across the stage on senior night [in high school].

“We’re sentimental, me and Pops. It’s been emotional, a long journey, a hard journey, and we let [the emotions] loose. He’s an immigrant from Jamaica, came here when he was 9, and things were tough. Very tough. But this game blessed him with a new start of life. He was able to get a degree, able to play a little in the Canadian Football League, a little Arena football and provide for us.”

Nubin said he can generally relate to all of that. He also suggested that he got to where he is because of his toughness. His dad would have it no other way.

“I don’t back down from anybody,” said Nubin, who was the first safety selected in the 2024 draft. “I hold myself to a high standard. I hold myself to a higher standard than anybody else around me can hold me to. Having that standard for myself, having that expectation for myself, just elevates me and elevates everybody else. There’s nothing that anybody can expect from me that I don’t already expect of myself.”

When asked about the pairing of Pinnock and Nubin, it came as no surprise to defensive coordinator Shane Bowen that Pinnock has been a generous mentor.

“Yeah, I think Jason’s been great for the entire room, safety-wise and corner-wise,” Bowen said. “The way he works, day in and day out, the way he prepares, I think he’s a pro in that regard. I think those guys look to him, all those guys look to him, especially on game day. Just the energy, the enthusiasm, the fire he plays with, those guys feed off that.”

Nubin came to the Giants out of the University of Minnesota, where he set a program record with 13 interceptions.

Asked what he’s seen in Nubin, Bowen said, “These young guys, they're kind of learning by fire right now with some of that stuff, but I've been pleased with how he's played, showing up, tackling. He's played physical for us.

"Really just continue to learn from mistakes with all those guys, and when you play with young guys, it's going to happen at times. So just continuing to build, make new mistakes, learn from it, keep growing, keep understanding what the game is at this level.”

Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson has high hopes for Nubin and knows what he can expect from Pinnock. But he was more interested in the bond between the players and their fathers.

“I’ve met both fathers and they’re really good men,” Henderson told Newsday. “When you hear that, you think that in their private conversations they’re talking about their upbringing and you can tell that’s coming through, that their dads were there and pushed them and led and guided them to this point, and they both acknowledged that and they see that in each other. It’s cool that they’re talking about it.”

He paused.

“I hope,” Henderson said, “my son someday says that.”

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.