Post columnist Steve Serby caught up with Giants first-round draft pick, receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Q: What drives you?
A: I don’t want to be great, I want to be legendary. Anybody can be great nowadays, I want to be beyond that. When they turn on teach tapes 30, 40 years down the road, I want them to still be watching film of me. You got the guys like Jerry [Rice]. … I want to be G.O.A.T, is what I always say.
Q: Greatest Of All Time?
A: Right.
Q: What made Jerry legendary?
A: It didn’t matter what route it was, everything looked the same. And he was smooth and he was gonna catch everything. He’s definitely the greatest receiver of all time.
Q: What part of your game do you need to work on?
A: You can always on everything. … There’s things like just getting in and out of my breaks a little bit quicker is one of the things that I want to do. And just moving my feet a little bit more at the line.
Q: Do you consider yourself a big-game player?
A: I’ve always heard when the lights are on, it’s time to perform. You know when it’s a major game — big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.
Q: What is it about big games that turn you on?
A: It’s everything about it — it’s the biggest crowd, it’s knowing that everybody’s watching. … You want to be the guy who makes plays for your team.
Q: What wide receivers, other than Rice, did you like watching?
A: Guys like Megatron [Calvin Johnson]; [Victor] Cruz; DeSean Jackson; T.O. [Terrell Owens], Randy Moss, Cris Carter. There’s so many guys, I try to watch them all and see what there is about ’em that makes ’em so great.
Q: What makes Odell Beckham Jr. unique?
A: Actually you can even start with the name. There’s not too many people (chuckle) named Odell. As far as on-the-field stuff, I’m very, versatile, I can do a lot different things as far as being a receiver, or you can even put me in the backfield, or throw a pass, and on top of that, return punts and kicks.
Q: Do you think you’re similar to anyone in today’s NFL?
A: Cruz. … He’s got it all. He kinda reminds me of myself.
Q: What is the “it” factor?
A: It’s something that you can’t teach. It’s something that you have that’s inside of you that it’s just the way that you were built. It’s one of those things where you have it or you don’t.
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: Make plays. Make smart decisions. When you get the ball, go score. Celebrate with your team, and win, for the most part. A little bit of my off-the-field is the same as it is on the field. I like to mess around and joke around. That’s the biggest thing for me is to have fun.
Q: But you’ve gotta be a different kind of person on the field when you play this game, right?
A: To an extent. There’s a switch that just automatically turns on. This is your job, this is what you live doing, and you gotta be focused. Your mind’s gotta be in the right place.
Q: Some receivers are divas. I don’t think you are, is that right?
A: Yeah, definitely not. That’s definitely not me.
Q: Why isn’t that you?
A: I don’t know, I just wouldn’t put myself in that category. If the ball’s not coming my way, I’m not gonna be over there complaining and telling them, “Throw me the ball!” or complaining to the ref for pass interference, things like that. You take the punches and roll with ’em.
Q: Why would you buy a ticket to watch you play football?
A: I feel that I’m an explosive player. I’m fun to watch, I like to try to make plays all over the field.
Q: What is so much fun about returning punts?
A: It’s just a natural thing to do. It’s something that you’ve been doing since you were a little kid — catching the ball and you try to make everybody miss. We used to call it Blow ’Em Up, Bust ’Em Up. It was just every man for himself, they throw the ball up and you have to shake everybody and go score, and that’s just something that I love doing, and I enjoy it.
Q: How much of an impact do you think you can make as a rookie?
A: I’m looking forward to just going in there and competing for a job, and if I land on the field, I’ll do whatever it takes to get the team wins.
Q: What are your personal goals this season?
A: I definitely would love to go to the Super Bowl, for sure. And as far as just a personal goal, when you’re a competitor like I am, you want to be the best, so why not shoot for things like Rookie of the Year, or things of that nature.
Q: Do you have a touchdown dance?
A: No, not yet. I probably have a lot to compete with with Cruz and his salsa.
Q: What do you think of Cruz’s salsa?
A: It’s pretty classy, I like it.
Q: What can you tell me about what kind of ball Eli Manning throws compared to Peyton, at the Manning Passing Academy?
A: Eli may have a little bit of a better spiral than Peyton. It’s so hard to put one over the other. They’re both phenomenal quarterbacks. And I haven’t thrown with both of ’em in a while, so I couldn’t tell how both of their balls would compare to each other.
Q: Have you gotten a chance to speak or text with Eli since you were drafted?
A: Yeah, actually he texted me the other day.
Q: What did he tell you?
A: Congrats, I’m happy to have you on board. Go Greenies [Isadore Newman H.S. in New Orleans].
Q: Do you know Cooper, his other brother?
A: Yes, Cooper is one of the funniest people I’ve met in my life.
Q: The one-handed catch against Iowa, was that the best catch you’ve made?
A: Looking back on it, I guess you can say that that was one of the best catches I made.
Q: Your favorite LSU memory?
A: Probably the punt return against Ole Miss. Or the return field goal against UAB.
Q: Pick one.
A: OK. The punt return against Ole Miss.
Q: What made that so special in your mind?
A: Just because we were down, it was getting towards the end of the game, that tied the game up, and we got a lot of momentum from that.
Q: Your mom texts you every day?
A: She’ll send me quotes and scriptures just to keep my head on right. She just tries to make sure I stay like I am and just stay humble and putting God first.
Q: Describe your mom.
A: She’s an amazing woman. She’s caring, she’s always keeping my head on straight, she’s a hard worker — definitely one of the best women I’ve ever met in my entire life. I’m so happy just to be able to see her smile and know that I made her proud.
Q: Have you watched clips of her as a track star?
A: I’ve watched a few of ’em of her running and stuff, and I’ve seen a few pictures of her. It’s pretty funny to sit there and watch her in her prime.
Q: Do you have her running style?
A: I definitely can say that I get a lot of my running style from her, we used to always work when we were younger in the form and things like that. I actually have her exact body. Her hands are actually a little bit smaller than mine.
Q: Do you have big hands?
A: They were 10 inches at the Combine.
Q: Did Rueben Randle give you any feedback or insight into the Giants organization?
A: A little bit, he’s still waiting for me to come up there so we can have time to talk. I’m looking forward to seeing him again.
Q: Describe your stepdad Derek Mills.
A: He’s been there since I was very young. Him being an Olympic gold medalist and him being an athlete as well, it kept it in our household. This is what I was born to do.
Q: Are you still in touch with your dad?
A: I talk to him every day.
Q: Have you watched tapes of him play when he was an LSU running back?
A: I’ve only seen a little bit of his tape, I’ve been trying to get his tapes for the longest time. But I’ll end up catching some and watching it for sure.
Q: You were a point guard in high school?
A: I kinda played every position. I mean, I guarded centers, really whatever the team needed me to do, I did it.
Q: You had a dunking contest with Johnny Manziel?
A: It wasn’t really a dunking contest with him. He posted a video, and then I hit him up. I think I might have posted a video and “tag you,” and then everybody made it seem like I was calling him out and things like that.
Q: How do you think he’ll fare in the NFL?
A: I think he’ll be great. He’s a playmaker, he’s a gamer, and it’s just a mindset. Like I said, that “it” — you can’t teach the things that he does.
Q: What do you recall about the upheaval following Hurricane Katrina?
A: My mom was like, “Let’s just get out of here just in case it is bad” or anything like that. We went to Atlanta, then we went to D.C. just to see family and things like that, and then it hit, and I remember it being so horrible, and not knowing when we were going to be able to return to home was just … it was not a good feeling.
Q: How long were you displaced?
A: I don’t remember anything, days or months, anything like that. I know it was long enough to miss home.
Q: How badly hit was your home?
A: My house actually did not get hit that bad, just tore a little bit of the roof off and that’s it.
Q: But you knew friends and family that suffered?
A: I know a lot of people who lost everything, they lost their house, they had 17 feet of water, things like that. It was intense, it was something that was hard for the city as a whole just to overcome.
Q: You call Shaquille O’Neal your uncle?
A: Yes sir.
Q: What do you remember about Shaq at LSU as a kid?
A: I just remember him taking me into The Dungeon, and he would lift me up to the goal and would let me shoot the ball at a real hoop. I think he can hold me in just one hand.
Q: Do you stay in touch with him?
A: Yeah I still talk to him to this day.
Q: What is your pit bull’s name?
A: Dre.
Q: Superstitions?
A: No.
Q: Hobbies?
A: I’m trying to learn how to play the piano.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Martin Luther King, LeBron James, and if it’s possible, God.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Blue Streak.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Martin Lawrence.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Chicken casserole. It’s a dish that my dad’s been making since I was a little boy.
Q: A message to New York Giants fans?
A: Oh just come together as a family, try and win a Super Bowl this year, let’s make it happen.