Giants guard Jon Runyan blocks out some time for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: Would you like to say anything about team owner John Mara, who is battling cancer?
A: Him and his family that started this Giants organization, they put their heart and soul in this franchise. This is their baby. This is what they do, this is who they are. It always sucks when someone you know, someone you love has cancer, and they’re going through something like that. I have a couple of family members in my life that are going through the same thing. I think the number one thing you try to do from them is just kind of bring them any sort of joy. It sucks that we’re really not able to do that for him, and give him that little emotional boost on the field winning these games. … We as players, you think about that a lot, wish him the best, him and his family, and supporting him at this time, and hope that he gets better. I know that he’s a tough guy, he’s going to fight his way through this.
Q: Do you have any Christmas plans?
A: My wife (Victoria) should be having her baby about any day now. If it isn’t in the next couple of days, the doctor thinks it’ll be the 23rd or 24th, so that’ll be probably one of my Christmas gifts and how I’ll be celebrating.
Q: Boy or girl?
A: Boy. … Our first, yeah. … We’re going to name him the Third (III) because I’m a Junior.
Q: What will fatherhood mean to you?
A: I’m super excited about it. I think everybody always grows up wanting to be a father. How awesome my life was growing up, that my father was able to give to me, and being around him in football, and him kind of really inspiring me to do this and play this game even though how crazy it is what we do for a living. Him giving me all the opportunities to be successful and it coming down to me to taking advantage of those opportunities. He did everything for me, and I’m so grateful and appreciative of that, and I look forward to passing it on to the next generation, and being that person for my son.
Q: What was it like playing for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan?
A: I was in Coach Harbaugh’s first recruiting class. Coming in there, he really kind of changed the environment of Michigan football and kind of brought it back to what it was, what the standard is there, and I’m grateful to be part of that success. Their recent success on the field I think has a lot to do with him.
Q: Do you think this franchise needs a coach like Jim Harbaugh?
A: When you look at it, based on his résumé everywhere he’s gone he’s turned around and succeeded. He’s inherited some programs that aren’t in the best of shape and he’s turned all of them around. Short answer, like yes I do. Proven winner, proven coach. Being in New York, people are going to want results fast. A coach like him being able to get those results pretty fast would work well. It just comes down to sustaining that then.
Giants offensive guard Jon Runyan (76) speaks at a press conference after training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports
Q: A proven experienced winning coach rather than a young, rising star assistant?
A: I was watching the Seahawks and the Rams game, and on one side they have Sean McVay, at one time a young rising coach, still young coach, Super Bowl champion. He’s been doing it at a consistent level year in and year out. And then on the other side, Mike Macdonald, who was under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan for a year or two, and I think he’s considered a young, rising coach, and look what he’s done to the Seahawks because the Seahawks kind of went through a funk for a couple of years and now they’re the No. 1 team in the NFC. It’s tough. … It’s been proven to work on both sides, we just got to get it right.
Q: What are your favorite huddle moments with Jaxson Dart that you think define him?
A: He’s not really much of a talker outside of just giving us the situation, and just the intensity that he has with whatever brief message he has to give us, reminding us of the scenario, but when he’s in the huddle, he’s always unshaken, no matter the scenario on the field, no matter the score. He feels comfortable in the huddle, he commands it, grabs everybody’s attention, and he’s a young guy that brings a lot of energy, and I think everybody loves it, everybody feeds off of it. To have that kind of true leadership and competitiveness out of your quarterback goes a long way in helping boost morale and inspire guys.
Q: Can he win a Super Bowl?
A: Yeah, I think so. We’ve seen some really good play out of him only being a rookie, and he still has so much more room to develop and continue to grow. I feel like we keep rallying around him, I feel like our O-line’s done a pretty good job this year, but we still have so much more room to grow in developing this run game to help him get him going, make him feel comfortable back there, because when he has the ball back there and he has at least three, four seconds, he’s going to find somebody down the field and if not he’s going to scramble, and he gets a lot of explosives off runs. He’s athletic, he’s creative, he’s just kind of what you see as the modern-age NFL quarterback now, and I’m happy that we have him here.
Q: He talked about being targeted because of his concussion protocol history.
A: I’ve consistently tried to tell him every single game, remind him that he had to get down and protect himself. At the end of the day, he’s a competitor, he wants to fight for yards, he wants to prove to his teammates and everybody else that he’s a tough player, he’s a tough guy, and he has done that. I think when the time’s right, he’ll be able to show that. I’d like to see him protect himself a little bit more.
Q: Is that healthy for him to have that narrative in his head?
A: I don’t really think he believes it, honestly, but for whatever reason, people are being super cautious with him. The guy takes a beating every game because he’s putting his body on the line and he’s taking some shots.
Q: That can’t be good for his longevity, can it?
A: No, no, I don’t think so, but he’s a tough guy, and I know what he does outside of the facility to help take care of his body. He’s a young player. He used to play exactly like this in the SEC, and slowly he’s going to learn that this is a different kind of level of speed and physicality at this level. He’s understanding that slowly and he’s getting there. I trust he will.
Runyan exits the field alongside Giants center John Michael Schmitz in Week 15. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Q: What do you tell him about him saying he’s a marked man?
A: Well, that’s true, and he’s the one that’s putting it out there. He’s putting that target on his back the way that he plays. As long as he understands that, he knows what teams are doing, he’s going to have to figure out how to protect himself a little bit more.
Q: What will the Dart-to-Malik Nabers connection look like?
A: Malik and Jaxson are going to be special. I’m excited to see their progress and their growth. … It’s going to be super fun being part of it.
Q: Whatever comes to mind: Abdul Carter.
A: He’s an athletic freak. Super slippery. Every time I look up on gameday at the Jumbotron, he’s always winning his rush. The sacks will come. There’s winning the rush and then there’s finishing the rush, he’s doing the first one a lot of the time. I know he’s had a couple slip through his hands. I’m sure he’s sick about that. He’s there, he’s building, he’s still a young kid.
Q: You see him as a double-digit sacker?
A: I think so, yeah. He’s got spelling good teammates to model his game after. … I know just kind of the way that he moves, the way that he approaches game that he’ll get there for sure.
Q: Cam Skattebo.
A: Wild card … Crazy … Energetic. In the morning he’s a slow buildup, but then you never know what time it is, maybe 9 o’clock, or noon, he just kind of explodes and he just kind of turns into Skatt.
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) is sacked by Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) and linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) as guard Jon Runyan Jr. (76) defends in the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Q: Sports Illustrated ranked your father second on a list of dirtiest players in the NFL in 2006.
A: He was a mountain of a man, or still is — 6-(foot)-8, 340 (pounds). There’s not many players like that in this modern-age NFL. He definitely was a bruiser, he was a punisher, he was going to get after people. He’d be the first to admit that he wasn’t as athletic as me but he was going to wear you down physically and mentally and get in your head just by going after you every single play. We have a little bit different body types, my mom’s a little smaller, she brought me down a couple of inches, I love her, but you know … she’s probably where I got my athleticism from, so I thank her for that.
Q: Does your father offer you constructive criticism to you?
A: He does. Part of his job (as NFL vice president of policy and rules administration) is to watch the film every week, so he’ll send me some clips on stuff here and there. He enjoys it, and I think he really enjoys being able to have my tape pretty much readied up every single week, and he offers me criticism, gives me some praise — not too much though, ’cause fathers can’t give you all the praise, but I enjoy it, and I enjoy seeing his videos and his texts.
Q: Everybody asks you about your father playing for the Eagles and his rivalry with Michael Strahan. Tell me about your mother Loretta.
A: My mom worked almost 10 years as a Houston police officer. That’s where my parents met, where my dad was playing for the Oilers. My dad played for the first 13 years of my life. My mom was really the one running the house with me and my two younger sisters and taking us all over South Jersey to our practices and whatever camps we have. I went to a high school in Philly, and my sisters were 30 minutes away in Moorestown, New Jersey, and being able to balance all that. She kept the house in order, she kept us in check. She ran a really tight ship, and I think we all turned out pretty well.
Q: What drives you now?
A: I’m starting my family first … first child coming in a couple of days … I do it for my wife, I do it for my family, my family name. And kind of selfishly I do it for myself. Not for any sort of recognition, but for something to feel good, like invest my time, pour myself into and kind of reap the rewards and everything that comes from it — the joy, the pain, the defeat and overcoming adversity. I enjoy the kind of weekly battles of Wednesday to Friday, Saturday, and then leading into gameday it’s kind of crescendo all the way up to gameday and then as soon as the game’s over you can celebrate for about two, three hours and then it’s right back to square one. Running out the tunnel in gameday and playing in front of thousands of fans and people around the world, it doesn’t get much better. The energy and passion that goes along with that is kind of addicting.
Q: Biggest obstacle or adversity overcome?
A: In college I dislocated my shoulder off my junior year, I really think that was a pivotal time in my career where I really thought about was I doing everything, taking football serious enough? I didn’t really know if it was something I really wanted to continue with because I hadn’t really seen the field by then. I kind of had a moment where I didn’t really know if I wanted to play football anymore, but something sparked and flicked for me and I was able to kind of figure out what really was worth my time and energy, and that time in 2017, my junior year, kind of really propelled me to where I am today. I’m grateful for that, dislocated it off the field and then dislocated it in a workout later that year. Didn’t need surgery on it, but it kind of was a wake up call for me sitting on the sideline watching my teammates kids pass me up while I was waiting around.
Q: What was it like playing against Ohio State in Ann Arbor and in Columbus?
A: I lost both of them, but I think playing away rivalry games is always so much fun — kind of everybody is against you, you versus the world.
Q: Blocking Chase Young as an All-Big Ten left tackle?
A: I started two Ohio State games and played a half in another one. … It was Chase Young, Sam Hubbard, Nick Bosa, Jonathan Cooper. … I don’t think I gave up a sack to any one of them. My senior year in college I went through a gauntlet of defensive ends. I think I gave up one sack all year to Zack Baun who was playing outside linebacker. I still think about that a lot though (smile).
Jon Runyan in 2023 during his time with the Packers. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Q: Fox’s Joel Klatt’s list of potential Michigan coach replacements for Sherrone Moore: Dan Lanning (Oregon), Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Mike Elko (Texas A&M). Any of them strike your fancy?
A: I’d say Dan Lanning does for sure.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Abraham Lincoln; I feel like I want to talk to somebody that has claimed to be abducted by an alien before; Ozzy Osbourne.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “The Graduate.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Will Ferrell.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: Growing up it was Beyoncé.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Probably some buffalo wings.
Giants guard Jon Runyan. Noah K. Murray-NY Post
Q: You have one more year on your contract here.
A: I really do like it here. I grew up a little more than an hour south of here. Being here for my family and friends, then making day trips for the game, being able to go home for some holidays on the weekends in the offseason, I love it up here. I really love the people in this building, my teammates, the staff we have, the ownership, I believe in this franchise. … I believe we’re trying to do everything we can to put this thing in the right direction and we got a lot of people that want it to go that way. I want to be part of the solution of why the Giants are great again.
Q: You’re 5-26 as a Giant. How do you deal with the losing away from the field?
A: It sucks. You put everything into every single week, and by the time Friday, Saturday comes, you kind of convince yourself that there’s no way we’re going to lose this game, and then go out there on Sunday … It’s the way the games are in the NFL, they’re going to go down to one or two, maybe three plays every here and there, and we just have not been making those plays since I’ve been here. … Whatever we got to do to get this thing figured out going into next year, I believe we have the capability of turning this thing around and being a playoff team next year once we get the right kind of people we need to do that in this building, and I’m excited for the future.
