Jets linebacker Quincy Williams — a 2021 waiver claim and brother of Gang Green defensive lineman Quinnen Williams — tackles some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: I heard you talking about being a lion or a gazelle on game day. What was that about?

A: So I found this video on YouTube. I try to get in that mindset, so I watch like cheetahs and lions chase like prey and stuff like that. It’s this quote they were saying like, “A gazelle wakes up and knows that it has to be faster than the fastest lion to stay alive, and a lion wakes up and knows that he has to be faster than the slowest gazelle so he can eat.”

Q: When do you watch these YouTubes?

A: Oh, I watch it before the game, like literally right before the game.

Q: At your locker?

A: Yeah.

Q: On your phone?

A: Yeah, I got the video saved. Right before we’re ready to go outside.

Q: Describe your on-field mentality.

A: Like a cheetah chasing a gazelle for real. Every time it’s more like, “I gotta get this meal, I gotta eat.” That’s my mindset, for real, for real.

Q: You’re not a lion on game day?

A: See, I’ll be like I’m the cheetah, because C.J. Mosley is like the lion, like the leader of the defense and stuff. So I was like, “You be the lion, I’ll be the cheetah then, ’cause I’m going to get it.” (laugh)

Q: Describe the feeling when you deliver a big hit.

A: It’s like an adrenaline rush. And then after I hear the crowd, the crowd is what really gets the “Uppercut” ready. So when I’m winding it up and I hear the crowd go, “Ohhhhh” and then when I finish they go “Ooooooh.” So like the top of the Uppercut is like the “Ooooooh.”

Q: Describe your game-day smack talk.

A: I’ll be holding everything in from the week, you know, laughing, joking, but I take like the Joker mentality, for real. Joker’s my favorite character, from the movie “Batman.”

Q: What is the tattoo on your left hand?

A: It’s the Joker’s smile, from “Suicide Squad.” So the new Joker in “Suicide Squad,” he basically has his smile tattooed on him. So when he does something bad or something like that, he just holds it up to his face just like he’s always smiling. I kind of like thought it was funny, so when I’m upset or something like that, like I’m with my family and stuff, I just like hold my hand up like this [in front of face] so it looks like I’m still smiling, even though I’m kind of mad. (laugh)

Q: Who are the others talking smack?

A: Best smack-talker on the defense would have to be Sauce [Gardner]. … D.J. Reed, another one … me … Kwon [Alexander].

Q: Do you guys start trash talking right from the very beginning?

A: No, not from the very beginning, we just remind people to let ’em know: “We’re gonna be here all game.” One of the things: “Ain’t nobody open but us,” meaning, like, “If you’re throwing the ball, we’re gonna be the ones making the play on it, ain’t nobody open but us.” So, like, if the quarterback’s looking downfield, you’ll make a good play on the ball, like a bat-down or something like that, and you just go back and tell the wide receiver, “Hey, tell your quarterback ain’t nobody open but us.” And you could tell like us running to the ball, it’s like all right, who’s gonna get there first? “Meet me at the ball” is our favorite thing. “Violence,” and then, “Meet me at the ball.” We’ll say that, like to each other, before the play. And then we’ll have handshakes ready or something like that. Of course we’ll like go around the whole team. People be asking us, “Hey, what about tempo? Like y’all doing all these handshakes and celebrating every play, like what about tempo?” And my thing I always say is, “I’m trying to hit him so hard that it takes him time to get up.” If it’s taking him time to get up, that means you can’t run fast ’cause he’s getting up. So that gives me my time, my celebration right there. (laugh)

Q: How many different handshakes are there after a big play?

A: Kwon himself … if it’s 11 people on the field, he probably got a handshake with himself (laugh). He got 11 different handshakes, for real, he got a handshake for every person, he remembers all of ’em, it’s crazy. … Sometimes we’d be getting the call and still doing handshakes. You won’t see a play with us not doing a handshake.

Q: What is your routine the night before the game?

A: My favorite football movie’s “The Program.” I watch that movie the night before the game.

Q: What about sleeping on the floor?

A: So my grandad was in the Vietnam War, and he was just telling me how like during battles and stuff, they would sleep on the floor so they’d always be ready. So I kind of like took that same mindset from him, and then night before the game, sleep on the floor. I could be in the nicest hotel. … I’d probably chill in the bed for a little minute, but as soon as I get ready to go to sleep, lay me a little blanket, pillow, then get on the floor, sleep on the floor.

Q: Every Saturday night?

A: Every Saturday night. I started in college though.

Q: Do you sleep well?

A: Oh, I sleep real good. Quinnen [Williams’ younger brother and Jets teammate] tried it one time, he said his body was hurting and stuff, but I was straight. (laugh)

Q: Describe the letter from your late mother, Marquischa, that you kept.

A: It’s at my grandma’s house locked away. It was a handwritten letter. … It was basically just being a leader and keeping the [four] siblings together. Really just, “We all we got”-type mentality. Leaning on each other, so like no matter what, always have each other’s back. And then it was something about everyone getting a college degree, that was a big thing ’cause she was a schoolteacher. She left us a recipe, but I forget what it was. So her favorite thing is like chocolate-covered cashews and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Q: What did she write about the chocolate-covered cashews?

A: Basically like those are a reward, like you can’t just eat ’em, ’cause like me, I used to eat ’em like all the time, and they were her favorite too though. So if have a good game or something like that, I’ll go to Walgreen’s, get me some chocolate-covered cashews. When we did good in school, we had chocolate-covered cashews and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Q: How painful emotionally was it for you in the last days of her life before she succumbed to breast cancer in 2010?

A: I was just starting high school, so there was like a transition period for me. … We spent a lot of nights in the hospital. … Me and Quinnen had a conversation with ourselves, “Let’s be honest with ourselves”-type thing ’cause they said that the cancer was spreading. … We did our homework while we were there, and we’ll just read books to her or we’ll watch TV shows and tell her what was going on and she was like just too tired. When she actually passed, we were coming down the hall, I had just got some Skittles or whatever from the vending machine. … When I got the Skittles, she was actually sleeping. I was just like mad, I didn’t really know what to do. I like took off running down the steps or whatever. My grandad’s a preacher, so he came and talked to me. Basically I was just like mad at God or whatever just because I had prayed so much, I was doing everything right, I was doing good in school. Basically, he was telling, like, my mom didn’t leave me, now she’s carrying me and watching me through the rest of my life. And then my grandma gave me the letter. Right before the game, when I run out the tunnel and stuff, I just look up and just let her know like we’re gonna put on a show. The biggest thing just be like “I know she had the best seat in the house” after the games.

Q: Describe her.

A: My mom was the type that was passionate about her kids but she was also about helping others. Always did extra for everyone. Taught us how to cook. If culinary school had a football team, I probably would have went to culinary school. (laugh)

Q: And your father, Quincy Williams Sr.?

A: My dad’s a hard-working person. He’s one of those people, like, “Don’t do it unless you’re gonna do it 100 percent.” He took us to most of our football practices and games and stuff.

Q: Give me some of your favorite “Quotes of the Day.”

A: My favorite quote is, “Don’t sacrifice what you want most for what you want right now.”

Q: Give me another one.

A: So my granddad used to tell us, “Only the strong survive, the weak crumble like cookies.”

Q: How are you and Quinnen different personality-wise?

A: Quinnen has more patience than me. I’m kind of like, I wouldn’t say a hothead, but I’m kind of like a my-way-type person. He’s more like a big baby to me. (laugh) He’s more in touch with his softer side than I am. But on the field, like a whole different animal.

Q: How has married life changed Quinnen?

A: It actually opened my eyes to a lot of things. I’m taking some of the stuff I’m learning from them into my relationship just with my girlfriend … learning like patience and stuff. And then he’s also giving me feedback, you gotta be selfless in a relationship. But like marriage is like a whole different step.

Q: Describe Quinnen’s wife Maranda.

A: We get along, and we also butt heads, too. But the main thing, she’s like a nurturer though. I go over their crib, she’ll cook, make my plate and everything and I’ll be like, “All right, I’ll wash the dishes then”-type thing.

Q: If you could test your skills against any running back in NFL history, who would it be?

A: Marshawn Lynch.

Q: If you could pick the brain of any linebacker in NFL history?

Q: Ray Lewis.

Q: You showed out in the NFLPA game.

A: I actually posted my own film from a YouTube, so that’s how I basically got the invite to the NFLPA Bowl. Me and Quinnen didn’t tell people that we were brothers until like we got drafted. We did our combine training separately and all that. He went to a big school [Alabama], I went to a smaller school [Murray State], so we were just showing people like we came from the same household, went to two different schools, but you still can do the same thing. When I got drafted [Jaguars, third round, 2019], they were like, “I didn’t even know Quinnen Williams had a brother who was in the draft.”

Q: Why do you wear No. 56?

A: My favorite rapper is Future, and he’s got this song called “56 Nights.”

Q: Have you tried Sauce’s sauce yet?

A: I haven’t tried it, but I’m gonna try it one of these days. I ain’t even been to Buffalo Wild Wings in a minute. I kind of want to go there and get ’em fresh, so I can give my honest opinion on it. (laugh)

Q: What did you dress up as on Halloween?

A: I dressed up as the Hulk one time. I did dress up as the Joker, I did the face paint, I did the whole nine yards.

Q: Describe your shoe collection.

A: I could spend all my money on shoes and wear the same clothes every day.

Q: How many pair of shoes do you have?

A: Right now I got 200 and something.

Q: You think you could have been an Olympic swimmer?

A: Oh yeah, for sure. … Sprint medley and freestyle.

Q: Quinnen’s clothing line?

A: I’m gonna be wearing it all the time. I got a few pieces coming in.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Kam Chancellor, Tupac [Shakur], my mom.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “The Mask.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Jim Carrey.

Q: Favorite meal?

A:. Taco salad.

Q: Describe the atmosphere on Sunday.

A: I don’t want to be able to hear myself thinking on third down when we’re on defense. (laugh)

Q: You suffered a concussion during that 54-13 beatdown last year in New England.

A: We’re not the same old Jets, we’re not the same old defense. Everybody’s like, we’re young, we’re young. We’re like the villains, four real, for real. We have fun, celebrate, running to the ball, just creating chaos. They say, “You’re young.” Yeah, we’re young and fast. We hit hard, all that. (laugh)

Q: The Jets haven’t made the playoffs in 11 years.

A: We’re not the same old Jets.