In recent years, perhaps no one has been able to enjoy seeing new NY Giants pass-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux reach his potential more than Mario Cristobal. The head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, Cristobal was the head man at Oregon from 2017-2021, recruiting Thibodeaux to Eugene, Ore., as part of the 2019 class.
Thibodeaux became one of the top prospects in the country and plenty of people had him in the No. 1 overall pick conversation for a while there. He ultimately fell to the Giants and general manager Joe Schoen at No. 5 and there was no chance the NFC East side was going to pass up on him. Cristobal followed the draft closely of course and he’s fired up to see Thibodeaux get to work for Brian Daboll.
Check out the latest @Giants Huddle Podcast as I chat with former @oregonfootball & current @CanesFootball HC @coach_cristobal about @kayvont & more #giantschat
— Lance Medow (@LanceMedow) May 23, 2022
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NY Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux has Mario Cristobal’s support
"“Well without question they got themselves a great player and a great person,” Cristobal said. “(He’s) someone that’s really dedicated to the game and that can really change the course of a game with his ability to get to the quarterback and to just disrupt opponent offenses.”"
Cristobal helped Oregon land Thibodeaux over a boatload of other schools in ’19. A 6-4, 240-pounder out of Oaks Christian in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Thibodeaux was a 5-star recruit out of high school and the No. 2 player in the nation.
He picked up scholarship offers from across the country, including Oregon, Alabama, Florida, Florida State and many others. In the end, he signed with the Ducks and the rest is history. Thibodeaux was a beast in the Pac-12 and he’s now ready to ball out for the Giants.
He’s looked good in minicamp and OTAs. Thibodeaux was in a red jersey on Monday, but it just looks like the staff is being a little careful with him right now. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be a full go for training camp later this year.
Once Week 1 vs. the Tennessee Titans arrives too, Thibodeaux will do anything possible to try and bring down quarterback Ryan Tannehill at least once in the season-opener. Brian Daboll expects the world from his new pass-rusher and Thibodeaux will be ready to get the job done for him. If you ask Cristobal about things, there’s no doubt in his mind Thibodeaux will make a big-time splash for his new team this fall and winter.