New York Post, Sunday, November 15, 2020nypost.comSERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WITH ...
Giantscenter Nick Gates snaps
up the chance for someQ&A with
Postcolumnist Steve Ser by.
Q: Describeyour emotions
when you we nt undrafted in
2018?
A: That one hurt.I left school
[Nebraska] thinkingI was
goingto at least be picked up
by somebody. That day was a
rough one, I’lltell you that.I
think about it a lot.Myfa mily
and me think about it a lot,we
talk about it sometimes. ...Things
are meantto happen. IfI didn’t
go undrafted, I wouldn’t have got
thisextension [twoyears, $6.8
million]I got the beginningof
thisyear. God doescertain things
in mysteriousways, and itworks
out.Yo u justgot to fo llow your
path andkeep going.
Q: Where we re you during the
draft?
A: I was actually at myaunt’s
house.I knew Iwasn’tgoing
Day 1 and most likely knew I
wasn’tgoing Day 2. But that third
day, I was fully expectingto get
a call, and didn’t.Wewere doing
fa mily dinner that night.I didn’t
get the call, andI justgot up and
left the house, andI drovearound
fo r probably 30 minutes, went
to thegas stationby myself and
triedto justrelax andget away
fr omeverybody.
Q: Did that give you a chip on
your shoulder?
A: It definitely sticks with me.It
helps me stay humble.It’s always
in theback of myhead. WhenI
think I’mgettingtoo up onmy
high horse, I’m like, “Oh no, dude,
you’re undrafted, you stillgot to
work your butt off.”I stillfe el like
I have to go out there and prove
myself.
Q: How do you like playing in
the New York area?
A: I love it out here.I actually
grewup hearing about this all the
time becausemyaunt [Linda]
grewup inClifton [N.J.], which
is right down the street, and
I was living there fo r alittle
bit so she actually loved that.I
went to the deli she usedto go
to, went to thebagel place she
always usedto go to and the
pizza spot.It was kindof a
weird kindof deal.
Q: What wa s it lik e playing
with Eli Manning?
A: That was cool. The last
startof Eli’s career, fu ture
Hallof Famer, it was oneof
mystartsI got to play in, so
I got to tell mygrandkids
that. Eli always kept his
composure in the huddle. ...
Hewas agoodguy.
Q: How doe s DanielJo nes
compare in the huddleto Eli?
A: Danielkeeps hiscomposure
really well. It doesn’t matter if
things are goinggood or things
are goingbad, he’s gonna be the
sameguy.
Q: How would you describe
Daniel’s leadership styl e?
A: Daniel’s a damngood leader. It
seemslike he knowslike the per-
fecttimeswhen he hasto speak
up andget everybody going.I
think that’s just somethingyou
have insideof you.
Q: What is the mostfiery
you’ve heard him or seen him?
A: I can’t rememberwhichgame
— “A ll rightguys, c’mon, let’s
go, wegot to get this in,wegot
to score points,wegot to help
the defense out,wegot to start
clicking.” Wedrovedown that
series and scored.Heknowshow
to pick and choosewhen he has
to get after us.
Q: What is so great about a
pancake block?
A: Just being ableto push some-
body else into the dirt and just
fi nish him.It’s something hard to
explain, it’s kindof like afe eling.
Yo u justfe el good after you do it.
Q: How many did you have
at Nebraska?
A: Wekept trackof ’em in col-
lege ona board.Two out of the
threeyears I won it.
Q: Doyou rememberyour
first pancake block in high
school?
A: I get up ona
linebacker, andI
drovehim like
15, 20 yardsdown thefi eld and justfi nished
him right on our sideline.That
was afunone.
Q: Describeyour on-field
mentality.
A: Aggressive, tough,I like get-
ting after people and tryto just
like imposemywill and things
like that.
Q: How doesplaying ce nter
compare to steer wrestling?
A: I did it one time, and Ibusted
mylip and I’ve never done it
again.Yo u’re supposedto keep
your head upwhen you do it,I
had myarms around his horns
andI like leanedmyhead alittlebittoo far, andthe steertwisted
his head and hit me in the lip,
andI had to get eight stitches or
something like that.
Q: Why do you enjoy center?
A: The nice part about it is
there’s nota lotof space like
there is at tackle.Yo u have a guy
on both sidesof you, so it’s not
as easy to get beat clean as it is
at tackle.
Q: What is the hardestpa rt of
playing center.
A: The mental load on thecenter
is tremendous.Yo u have to know
basically everything the quar-
terback knowswhen itcomes
to people in the box ... getting
everybody on thesamepage.
Q: Describe Giantsoffensi ve
line coach Marc Colombo.
A: Hewas atoughguy when he
played. Hewas ahard-nosed,
kindof like an a--holewhen he
played. It’s awesome, I fe el like
I kindof play thesameway. I
think that’s why me and himget
along sowell andrelate.
Q: Are you an a--hole on the
field?
A: A little
bit.Yo u
tryto
get thelast shove in there after theplays
and tryto make guys quit almost
and justkeep going.Being annoy-
ing andkeep pushing and pushing
and pushing, and sooner or later
they’re goingto quit or they’re
goingto turnover or they’re going
to easeawayfromit.
Q: Describecoach Jo e Judge.
A: I think Joe Judge is anawe-
some head coach.Heknowshow
to pushguys, but he also knows
how to take care of you.
Q: Who’s nastier:you, Shane
Lemieux orWill Hernandez?
A: Weall like to get after people
and all like to kindof make
people quit.I think the threeof
us fe ed off each other, our energy
helps each otherto keep going.I
cantell you when Shanewas in
there againstTa mpa Bay, he was
tryingto kill people andget some
knockdowns and stuff like that.
Q: Doyou run your mouth
when you play?
A: Just a little bit.
Q: Are you good at it?
A: I justsay some stuff that just
comesto mind,I don’t know if
it’s good or not, but it makes the
game more fun.
Q: Why would anyone in
his right mind tryto pick on
Aaron Donald like you did?
A: I didn’t meanto, it just hap-
pened.It’s part of thegame, two
going head-to-head, hitting each
othereveryplay, and things are
just beingsaid play after play,
and sooner or later it just hap-
pened.
Q: How did you get the nick-
name “King Smooth”?
A: Someof the olderguys came
up with itbackin college, I think
it was mysecondyear there.
Theykept on calling me Smooth
and it kindof stuck.
Q: You threw a 92 mphfastball
in high school?
A: Ye ah, itwas like 92, 93 that’s
where I topped out at.
Q: Doyou miss pitching?
A: I miss playingbaseball, to be
honest withyou. I loved playing
baseball. I played ever since I was
like 3, 4 years old.I was playing
with the 9-year-oldswhen I was
like 4or 5 years old.I was always
so big and they always moved
me up.
Q: No one checkedyour birth
certificate?
A: Mydad usedto get pissed
about it because peoplewould be
like, “Oh, check his birthcertifi-
cate, he’s older than he is,” blah,
blah,blah,blah,blah.
Q: Three dinnerguests?
A: Derek Jeter, Morgan
Waller, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Sandlot.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Leonardo DiCaprio.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Margot Robbie.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Sushi.GATESTESTES
Nick
AP