Rookie served well by bringing an old-school work ethic to Big Blue

AS GIANTS players got in their afternoon lifting after practice Thursday, the weight room was filled with the smooth Motown sounds of The Temptations’ hit “Just My Imagination.’’

As a number of them finished their lifting session about an hour later, The Spinners’ hit “I’ll Be Around’’ was pumping through the sound system.

Music around the building is a big part of the Giants’ culture, with coaches such as 59year-old defensive coordinator Wink Martindale cranking tunes in his defensive meetings.

Thursdays, Martindale said, are called “oldschool Thursdays.’’ “My favorite day,’’ he said. Same for Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants’ 21-yearold fifth-overall draft pick.

When the defensive players convened with Martindale before practice Thursday as the team readied itself for their home game against the Lions on Sunday, he was playing some tunes from the Ohio Players and Frank Zappa. Thibodeaux not only knew the songs, but the artists — despite the Ohio Players’ era was the 1970s and Zappa’s was the 1970s and 1980s.

“It’s like he’s got an old soul,’’ Martindale said of his rookie edge rusher.

Thibodeaux smiled when he heard himself called an “old soul.’’

“I’m a guy that not only gives off the presence of being older, but I’m a younger guy people look to for wisdom and for leadership,’’ Thibodeaux told The Post on Thursday. “I’m trying to step into that role and trying to step into it in a humble way knowing that I’ve still got a lot of learn and grow.”

On the visitors’ sideline Sunday at MetLife Stadium will be Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who was in the same conversation as Thibodeaux during the draft process, as to whom might be the first defensive player selected.

Thibodeaux and Hutchinson made their visits with the Giants on the same day. The Lions took Hutchinson second overall, three picks before the Giants chose Thibodeaux.

Statistically, Hutchinson’s numbers are better — 5.5 sacks, one interception, 10 quarterback hits and four tackles for losses. Thibodeaux, who missed the first two games due to injury, has only one sack, three quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one recovery.

An indicator of that old-soul maturity Thibodeaux possesses, though, is the fact that he has shown no signs of obsessing over his low sack total. This, remember, is a player who produced 19 sacks in his 32 games at Oregon.

When Brian Daboll first met Thibodeaux at the NFL combine, the Giants’ first-year head coach asked him: “Five games in, you ain’t got a sack. How do you handle that?”

Given Thibodeaux’s low sack total through his first seven games, it turned out to be a prescient question.

Thibodeaux’s response that day: “We’re going to figure out how next week we’re going to take advantage of whoever we play and get three sacks.” That was an answer Daboll loved. And it’s one that Thibodeaux has lived by, finding ways to be productive even when he’s not sacking the quarterback, such as taking on double teams and opening up sack lanes for other players, drawing holding penalties, dropping in pass coverage and stopping the run.

“I always say, ‘We’re going to open up a can of whoop-ass,’ ” Martindale said. “Well, he’s the can opener. With our system, it’s a position-less defense, and when you look at the defense statistically in areas where there are a lot of sacks, he’s doing the selfless work.”

Thibodeaux is not stressing about the lack of sacks, saying, “I know the pass rush and everything else is going to come.’’

The 6-foot-5, 258-pound Thibodeaux has had two signature plays this season to date. He batted an Aaron Rodgers pass late in the game against Green Bay in London to help the Giants clinch victory, and he sacked Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson at the end of the game, forcing a fumble and clinching that win.

How old-school is Thibodeaux?

He uses Post-it notes for reminders. He sticks them to the inside wall of his locker. Some have season-long goals written on them and some have reminders for the specific week scrawled on them.

“There are four goals on there and the rest are reminder tips for the week,’’ he said. “I change them out every week. The goals I keep the same, but if there’s something that week that I need to work on or get better at, I post a note there for it.’’

As a nod to his privacy, we’ll keep Thibodeaux’s notes private. Suffice it to say, though, that he’s an impressive, mature, conscientious young player driven to succeed, and betting against him reaching those goals isn’t recommended.