RB Hilliman lives out his dream with Giants TD

It has been made clear star running back Saquon Barkley won’t see the field during the Giants’ preseason schedule and Wayne Gallman was nursing an ankle injury, leaving the bulk of the rushing game up to Rod Smith and Paul Perkins on Friday night.

But don’t count out Jon Hilliman, who was the surprise leader of the backfield with 16 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown in the Giants’ 32-13 rout of the Bears at MetLife Stadium.

“It’s kind of surreal, I grew up a Giants fan, so I vividly remember skipping school and going to the Giants parade when they won the Super Bowl and things like that,” Hilliman, an undrafted running back out of Rutgers, said following the victory. “So, being able to score with the Giants’ logo on my helmet, it hasn’t really hit me yet. I hope it doesn’t hit me so I just continue to build and keep going. But definitely a special moment.”

Hilliman’s touchdown came in the third quarter, and he handled a majority of the push downfield with 22 yards on the drive. On first-and-goal from the Bears’ 10, Hilliman maneuvered through traffic into the end zone for his first NFL preseason touchdown.

The Giants posted 161 rushing yards compared to Chicago’s 34, a promising sign despite facing the Bears’ secondstring defense. Smith had 10 carries for 40 yards while Perkins posted six for 35 yards.

Smith’s longest carry of the game came early in the first quarter on the Giants’ first drive, on first-and-10 from their 49. Smith ran for a 17 yards before adding an additional 7 yards on the next snap. Eli Manning handed off to Perkins the following play for 4 yards before a short pass to Rhett Ellison for a 9-yard gain brought the Giants to the Bears’ 14.

The next back-to-back rushes from Smith only resulted in a 1-yard gain, but Manning managed to hit Golden Tate for 5 yards before finding Bennie Fowler for the touchdown to put the Giants on the board first.

In the third quarter, on second-and-6 from the Giants’ 30 with a 19-6 lead, Smith darted to the right before Bears defensive back Clifton Duck made a diving attempt at Smith’s knees.

The 6-foot-3 running back promptly leaped into the air and hurdled over Duck for a 5-yard gain. Barkley was spotted laughing it up on the sidelines after Smith’s track star move.

“Any time you go up in the air you better make it and you better make it look good,” Smith told The Post. “I’m just happy I came down on the right side.”