Giants aim to make complete defender out of Jordon Riley

For Jordon Riley, almost all of this is new.

Even the sport of football still is relatively new to a player who, through his sophomore year of high school, concentrated on playing basketball.

Not anymore.

These days, the 6-5, 315-pound Riley is in meeting rooms with Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence and taking direction from defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and the rest of the Giants’ coaching staff.

What has he learned from Martindale? In part, that whether he is lined up over the center or over the guard, his mission is the same. “Be violent and just dominate the man in front of you,” Riley said. “That’s what his emphasis was for me in this camp.”

From defensive line coach Andre Patterson, Riley has gained additional wisdom.

Riley said Patterson always preaches “that technique is what’s going to keep you in the game. He’s always emphasizing technique. Whether you’re tired or if the game [speeds up], you always rely on your coaching and technique.”

Late in the second quarter of the preseason game against the Panthers on Friday night, Riley relied on his technique and his brawn in making a fourth-down stop on a run. “I had needed that one,” Riley said with a smile. “I had a few stops where my technique wasn’t as great. I knew we needed a stop, so I put emphasis on that one play. I focused on my man. I was under the center, so I was just focused on him and trying to make a play.”

What about after the play?

“It was definitely exciting,” Riley said, “Just to get that feeling and to hear that atmosphere [at MetLife Stadium] after that play was special.”

When he got to the sideline, his teammates celebrated with him. “This team is very supportive of whoever makes a play,” Riley said.

Martindale’s response? “Great play.”

“I take pride in having his back,” Riley said, “and he has mine.”

In expressing his feelings after the Giants drafted Riley in the seventh round (243rd overall), Martindale had this to say: “I don’t know if you’ve seen or stood next to him yet. It’s like going to California and standing next to a redwood [tree]. I mean, he’s a big man and he’s got to learn how to play at this level and be consistent with it, but I’m excited about that.”

There often is a story when a team identifies a player later in the draft calendar. In Riley’s case, that road was paved by director of player personnel Tim McDonnell and assistant director of player personnel Dennis Hickey.

According to Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown, Riley “wasn’t on anybody’s radar” until Hickey saw him play at Oregon in October.

(That is considered late in the season for NFL teams to be uncovering college talent.)

Then Brown and McDonnell went to see Riley play against Cal. “You walk out to warmups,” Brown recalled, “and he sticks out like a sore thumb.”

There were concerns — Riley transferred three times in college — but those were assuaged when Patterson and Cox worked him out, according to Brown.

“There’s not that many men walking on the world that have his size,” Brown said. “So it’s on us to kind of bridge that gap. Can he take to the coaching?”

He added, “The development, getting his weight right, all those things . . . every time we put a bench mark in front of him, he’s met it.

“The nice part is the teammates root for him. [Williams and Lawrence] have taken him under their wings like a little brother. The production that you’re seeing in the preseason, we’re hoping that can be a catalyst for things to come in the future. But it’s been really cool to see.”

Imagine how Riley feels.

“I didn’t have any idea coming into the draft [where I would go],” Riley said. “I just controlled what I could control during that process. I just expected the best as the end result.”

Maybe that’s exactly what he received.

Far from a finished product, Riley agrees that his strength is in playing against the run.

“I’m still trying to work on the pass rushing part of my game,” he said.

He paused.

“I still have a lot of stuff to work on,” he said. “I think Coach Dre [Patterson] is helping me out with that.”

Fortunately for Riley, he seems to have plenty of teammates and coaches who are willing to help with anything he asks.

Said Riley, “I’m still working to becoming a complete player. I think I’m in the best situation in being able to learn from the vets. They take care of you. They aren’t selfish. These guys are always willing to help.”

CORRECTION: The name of Jordon Riley was misspelled in a previous version of this story.

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.