Without Brett Jones, Jon Halapio admits he might not still be a Giant.
Without his close friend, who taught him how to snap and transition to a new position, odds are he wouldn’t have the opportunity to be Big Blue’s starting center — the position many figured Jones was in line for when Weston Richburg left for the 49ers as a free agent.
Yet Jones, getting mostly second-team reps behind the 6-foot-3, 317-pound Halapio so far in training camp, isn’t upset about the situation he finds himself in. He would do it all over again if the opportunity presented itself.
“I was going to help him out any way I could,” Jones, a squatty 6-foot-2, 312-pound Canadian, said Monday prior to practice. “That’s what a good teammate does. I try to do what’s right, and that’s what I was doing.”
The two offensive linemen have been close since Halapio joined the Giants’ practice squad in 2016. Jones was the first player to talk to Halapio, and they bonded almost immediately. They live in the same apartment complex in New Jersey and their families are fond of one another. Jones will buy Halapio’s children gifts at Christmas. They go to the movies and eat out together. Jones turned Halapio onto bargain shopping at department stores like Burlington Coat Factory, TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
“It’s one of my favorite things to do now, too,” said the 26-year-old Halapio, a sixth-round pick of the Patriots in 2014 out of the University of Florida. “He has me doing that back at home in Florida with my wife.”
Because injuries ravaged the offensive line last year, Halapio and Jones saw increased playing time. Jones appeared in 16 games at center and left guard, while Halapio played in 10 games at right guard. When he came to the Giants in 2016, Halapio had limited experience at center and worked extensively with Jones on snapping after practice. In turn, he’s helped Jones, a true center, at guard.
“We were able to bounce ideas off each other,” Jones said. “That’s sort of what friends do. It was definitely good for both of us.”
Battling each other for a starting spot is new to both linemen. But they also knew this day was coming, or at least hoped it would. That meant Jones and Halapio got to stay around long enough and continued to progress to this point.
“It’s not awkward,” Halapio insisted. “I’m helping him out, he’s helping me out.”
However, barring a rash of injuries, one will find himself in the starting lineup when the regular season kicks off Sept. 9 at MetLife Stadium against the Jaguars, and the other on the bench. But both insist that won’t change their relationship.
“It’s an understanding between me and him,” Halapio said, “we’re still going to be best friends.”
