Wan’ Dale ROBINSON
Rookie Giants receiver Wan’Dale Robinson catches up with Post columnist Steve Serby to talk about his introduction to the NFL and Big Blue’s surprising start in his first Q&A.
Q: What drives you as an NFL player?
A: I have a tattoo right [behind the right ear], it’s “Mamba Mentality”: a constant quest to be the best version of yourself.
Q: Does this Giants team have a Mamba Mentality?
A: Shoot, I mean, I would say so. It starts with Dabs [coach Brian Daboll], and he’s just always wanting us to continue to get better and we can’t get complacent. He actually showed us a video of Kobe [Bryant] after the [NBA] Finals, when they [Lakers] were up 2-0. He wasn’t happy, but exactly what he said, “There is nothing to be happy about yet.” You haven’t won anything yet at the end of the day. Just like for us, we can be 5-1, we still can’t be happy ’cause the season’s not over.
Q: What was the reaction when Daboll showed the video during the week?
A: It hit spot on with everybody. He does a really good job of motivating us and not letting us get complacent with this game and even after a game and just keeping us hungry.
Q: What was it like for you the day Kobe perished?
A: I remember I was bowling. I was just like, “That can’t be real,” and then it was just kind of like everybody just sat there and we were just all in shock. We didn’t personally know him, but I’d almost gotten the chance before COVID to meet him. Adidas was hosting this event, QB Retreat at the Mamba Academy. We were all getting flown out there, and Kobe was actually gonna be there, and then COVID happened literally a month before we were all supposed to get flown out. I was really sick when he passed, but I still got the sweatshirt I’ll never get rid of.
Q: Why do you believe you can make an impact in your rookie season?
A: The coaches, they believe in me ... but at the end of the day I believe in myself. It’s the same game I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old. Just go out there, get the ball and make plays, that’s just kind of how I’ve always looked at it.
Q: You see myself as the ... blank ... player on the field.
A: Best.
Q: What is the most unfair criticism or the criticism that bothered you most?
A: Really for the most part, all the criticism I’ve ever gotten is I’m too small [5-foot-8]. That’s never been anything different since I was probably 10, 11 years old. At this point, I just kind of brush it off and it just kind of goes in through one ear and out the other.
Q: Ever wish you were bigger?
A: I mean, yeah definitely. There’s always what-ifs and what-if that, but God made me this way, and God gave me the abilities that I have, and I gotta do the most with ’em out of what I got.
Q: How tall is fast?
A: (Smile) That’s my guy Chris Vaughn right there. Me and Rondale [Moore, Cardinals receiver], that was kind of our thing coming out of high school. That was our trainer.
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: Just the confidence that I always feel I’m the best, and I can do whatever I feel like I need to do out there on the football field, just always believing in myself. My dad instilled that in me when I was 5 years old and I’ve never tried to change the mindset, and that mindset’s gotten me to where I am today.
Q: So when you’re on the field you think you’re the biggest guy on the field?
A: Not necessarily the biggest. I think at the end of the day, I don’t think anybody can stop me. I don’t really talk or anything like that to any other players out there on the field like to let them know or anything, but I just have that kind of confidence about myself and just keep it to myself and just keep going.
Q: Describe Saquon Barkley.
A: That boy’s a dawg (laugh). I don’t really know what’s a better compliment than that. But some of the things that he does out there on the football field, I’m just kind of like, “Wow.” Like even that play where he got down [at the Ravens 2], it was just like, “You’re better than me ’cause I woulda scored after I did that move on somebody (laugh).”
Q: But the instruction from the sideline. You woulda gotten down.
A: Maybe (laugh). That just shows he’s selfless, and he’s gonna do whatever he has to do for the team. He fights through a lot of pain.
Q: What have you learned about Daniel Jones?
A: He’s tough. I never realized how tough he was until I got here and just seeing all the stuff that he had to go through, and seeing some of the criticism and stuff like that he’s received and just to continue to see him battle and just lead our football team, it’s just been a really great thing to see.
Q: How good of a leader is he?
A: As good as I’ve been around. He’s just doing everything right.
Q: Describe playing on the big New York stage under the bright lights.
A: This is what you look for as a kid. You want to be in one of the big markets, you want to play in those big-time games. I love it. I’m just gonna try and take it all in and just take each and every game in just like it was my first.
Q: How frustrating was it missing the first five games with a knee problem?
A: Very frustrating, especially somebody that’s never missed more than two games in a football season. It was really, really hard, especially after just a couple of weeks, and I’m just feeling like I just want to be out there, and just kind of having some down days and just feeling like, hey, I just don’t think I’m getting better or anything like that, but just having to trust the process and realize that it’s a long season and you can still come back and you can have an impact.
Q: Who are the most exciting players in the NFL?
A: I like watching obviously Tyreek Hill, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson.
Q: What is the biggest adversity you had to overcome?
A: I’d definitely say my dad [Dale Robinson] going to prison [for distributing cocaine] when I was a young kid and just being with my single mom, and just being us two for almost 10 years.
Q: What was the low point?
A: Mom [Victoria Davis] deals with MS, so there was times she couldn’t work. Obviously, a mom and her son, she has to provide for her son and she’s obviously struggling a little bit, so just seeing her go through those times and just not always being able to give me everything that I wanted, but doing whatever she could to try to get me whatever I wanted ... as much of what I wanted [as] she could get. Q: Three dinner guests? A: Kobe Bryant, Reggie Bush, Drake. Q: Favorite movie? A: “Black Panther.” Q: Favorite actor? A: Denzel [Washington]. Q: Favorite actress? A: Queen Latifa. Q: Favorite meal? A: Soul food.
Q: What would you want Giants fans to say about you 10 years from now?
A: That he was the best. I don’t think anybody wants to walk out of this and not say that they were the best, and say that they gave it their all.