SERBY'S SUNDAY Q&A WITH... Evan ENGRAM

Tight end Evan EngramEngram, the Giants’ first-round pick on Thursday, huddles with Post columnist Steve Serby for some Q&A. Q: How do you feel about being regarded as a tweener? A: I’m not bothered by it. You’re just kind of a weapon that can do many things. I kind of embrace it. It don’t matter what I’m labeled as long as I get out there and make plays and help the team win. That’s all that matters. Q: Do you think there’s anybody that can cover you one-on-one? A: No sir. Q: The Giants describe you as a willing blocker. A: I’m not a 6-6, 250[- pound] guy that’s gonna pancake guys that same size, but I’m gonna put my nose in there and I’m gonna just fight to get the job done. It might not be pretty, it might not be perfect, but I’m not gonna back down from anybody. Q: What is your on-field mentality? A: I would definitely describe it as kind of a dog-eat-dog mentality. Q: Your thoughts on playing with Odell Beckham Jr.? A: I can’t wait. I’ve been watching him since he’s been in the league, and he’s been taking the league by storm. He’s so good, and I think that he gets a lot of weird looks defensively, and I think us adding more weapons is gonna free him up and do a lot for the offense as well, too. I can’t wait to get to work with him and learn from him and pick his brain. He’s really good with his routes, probably is the best route runner in the league. Q: Have you ever made similar to the one-handed catch he made? A: Not to that degree. But I made a couple of one-hand catches, but not one on that level. Not that good (chuckle). Q: What drives you? A: Just the nature of competition. Just getting up in the morning thinking about like somebody going to work today to be better than me. Q: While at OleOle MissMiss, you played against Jets’ first-round pick Jamal Adams, from LSU. A: He got the guys going. He’s a great player, gonna have a great career in the league. Q: Does he have that dog mentality? A: Oh yeah, definitely. We were both going at it a little bit on the field that game. Q: He held you to three catches for 15 yards in a 38-21 loss Oct. 23, right? A: He had a little help, but yeah, you could say that. Q: Who are the wide receivers or tight ends you’ve enjoyed watching? A: I loved watching Tony Gonzalez when he got to Atlanta, kind of end of his career and see how still he can be dominant and how well he worked in the offense was pretty cool. [Rob Gronkowski] is a beast. I loved watching Calvin Johnson play. I watched him since he was at [Georgia] Tech, he came in the league, just a monster. Jordan Reed, I’ve always kind of gotten compared to him, and even throughout this process, I really got to watch a lot of his film, and a lot of plays he’s made over the last couple of years, he’s a monster. I hope I can be as good as he is. Q: Do you see similarities? A: Definitely, just how he sets guys up with his routes, how he’s really savvy with everything and he gives to get ... especially releases or working on the top of the routes to kind of get the defenders off their heels and making them guess or giving, I like to call, sauce at the top of their routes. He’s really saucy. That’s kind of how I feel my game is. Q: Do you think you can be the Giants’ Jordan Reed? A: I’m just gonna be the best Giants’ Evan Engram I can be. Q: How do you feel about playing on the big New York stage? A: It doesn’t get any better than that. Q: Are you a trash talker? A: Not really, no. I just talk with my game. If somebody starts kind of mouthing off a little bit, I’m not gonna just take it, but I really just let the game do the talking. Q: Q:. You’re’ rEe fond fonvd of of athisthis quote qnuote since ninth grade: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” A: You can get mixed up in a lot of stuff with all these five-star, four-star stuff that a lot of kids are buying into these days. My mom and my dad came up with really just kind of a slogan that stuck with me. Just kind of being the underdog that’s kind of had a chip on his shoulder. That quote kind of goes with my mentality. Q: How have you been an underdog?’ A: Growing up in [Powder Springs, Ga.], I was kind of always the biggest kid in the park whatever, always have a ball in my hands, or was always scoring touchdowns. But once I got to my high school, a lot of kids were the same size, a lot bigger than me. My recruiting process started off really slow. I always thought I had the talent, but a lot of people overlooked me, a lot of people said I was kind of a tweeter and a lot of schools didn’t really pursue me. I always just felt kind of overlooked and just kind of used that as motivation. Q: Your freshman year you got hurt against LSU and were on crutches for seven weeks and getting around on a scooter. A: That was a wake-up call. I was hitting a rookie wall — just being tired with the schedule, and just not used to the process and the lifestyle, and I started getting complacent. This one play, man, I came across the line of scrimmage, my ankle got swept up and got caught in the ground. It made me put things in perspective, and really appreciate the game and the opportunity I had. Not everybody gets to play college football in the SEC and be in school on a full scholarship. Ever since then I’ve been excited for every day in practice. Q: You were reckless during one period of your life. A: One night my mom got my phone and kind of found a lot of stuff I was doing, just a lot of lies and making some bad decisions. I was doing all these things and wondering why I wasn’t getting recruited or wondering why schools weren’t calling me. It was because I wasn’t living right, so I made some adjustments and startedand kind makingof matured better and decisionsthings started turning around. Q: When was this? A: End of my junior year in high school. Q: What kind of things were you doing that you shouldn’t have been doing? A: I don’t need to get into all of that, just some dumb stuff with my friends. Q: Boyhood idol? A: Michael Vick. Q: You played quarterback until eighth grade. A: I had No. 7. I had his cleats every year. I tried to run around the pocket like him, one hand on the ball. Q: Who are athletes in other sports you admire? A: LeBron James ... Michael Phelps. Q: Three dinner guests? A: Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, LeBron James. Q: Why Muhammad Ali? A: Just all the adversity he faced. I definitely wasn’t around in that time, but just the big impact he had, not only on the sport but on people. He was definitely cocky and definitely had a lot of swagger to him. Q: Do you have swagger? A: Yes sir. Like I said, I occasionally show it in my game. You won’t hear much from me, but I definitely have a swagger to me when I get in a groove on the field. Q: Superstitions? A: I do my warmups and I go sit on the goalpost. I post up on the goalpost for about five or 10 minutes and just kind of soak in this opportunity. Q: Favorite movie? A: Lion King. Q: Favorite actor? A: Will Smith. Q: Favorite actress? A: Megan Fox. Q: Favorite singer/entertainer? A: Drake. Q: Favorite meal? A: Ribeye. Q: What would you tell Giants fans about what kind of impact you can make? A: I’m just gonna give everything I have for this team, for the fans and for the city. I’m gonna come in and earn the respect of my teammates and my coaches and learn as much as possible and do everything I can to help the team, whether it’s on offense or special teams. This is my last shot. I’ve never won a championship in my life. I’m gonna give everything I have to get the New York Giants to the Super Bowl and to help them get a championship.