Nubin was the first of 21 safeties selected in the 2024 NFL Draft following a standout career at Minnesota, where he set the program record with 13 interceptions in 55 career games. He also broke up 24 passes (tied for eighth in school history) to go along with 207 tackles (143 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.
More of his accolades:
Senior Bowl All-American Team (2023)
Sporting News First Team All-American (2023)
AP Second Team All-American (2023)
FWAA Second Team All-American (2023)
Walter Camp Second Team All-American (2023)
All-Big Ten First Team (2023)
AP First Team All-Big Ten (2023)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (2x in 2023)
All-Big Ten Second Team (2022)
All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (2021)
Guaranteed Rate Bowl Defensive MVP (2021)
Academic All-Big Ten (2023, 2022, 2021, 2020)
He calls himself a “Swiss Army knife.”
When asked what he will bring to the Giants, Nubin said he is comfortable anywhere on the field.
“I can move around everywhere,” he added. “I can blitz. I can come down and hit the box, I can play over the top.”
Of course, Nubin admitted he is “real comfortable” in center field and “running under the ball and going to get it.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Nubin last season played 468 snaps deep, 198 in the box, 84 in the slot, 13 on the defensive line, and five at corner. Nubin posted a career-best 90.1 coverage grade in 2023 (first among Power Five safeties) and allowed a 33.0 passer rating in coverage from 2021 to 2023, according to PFF.
It comes from my preparation, for real,” Nubin said. “I feel like that’s really what it is – how I approach the game, the things I do throughout the week to set myself up for success on the weekend, on Saturdays, now Sundays, to make the game easy.”
3. He has an opportunity to make an immediate impact.
Safety Xavier McKinney, the 36th overall pick by the Giants in 2020, was one of two players to play every snap for his team in the NFL last season (Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke was the other). But the fifth-year pro signed with the Packers as a free agent, creating an opening in a new-look defense under Shane Bowen. Nubin will enter a competition with Jason Pinnock, Dane Belton, and Gervarrius Owens.
We were very, very fortunate to get Nubin there, a guy that we spent a lot of time with,” general manager Joe Schoen said. “He had an injury (knee). We went out to his pro day when he was healthy to see him out there. Obviously losing X in the offseason, to get Nubin at that value, a guy with high character, leadership, smart, tough, dependable and then the 13 career interceptions. Just a good football player. Culture changer at the University of Minnesota and he’s going to bring that type of mentality here. … Just a really special kid that’s a good football player.”
Toughness was a common theme among this year’s draft class. Coach Brian Daboll said it is “near the top” on the list of traits they covet in a player.
I played like six games on a torn meniscus last year,” Nubin said. “Got it scoped at the end of the season. I kind of accelerated my recovery process to get myself ready for the Combine, because I really wanted to compete at the Combine and pro day. So, that kind of bit me in the butt a little bit. It affected me, but honestly, I wouldn’t do anything differently than I did because I really just wanted to compete.”
Nubin had an opportunity to leave after his senior season in 2022 but returned to finish his education. He also got another year to play with his younger brother, Jordan, who is a running back for the Gophers. Nubin’s father, Rodney, played college football at Eastern Michigan, where his mother, Sherese, ran track.
His late uncle, Steve King, played in the defensive backfield with Ty Law and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson at Michigan. Nubin wore No. 27 and has a tattoo of the number as a tribute to him.
4. He will wear No. 31 as part of a Gopher lineage that includes Antoine Winfield Jr.
While Giants fans will know the number for former defensive backs Jason Sehorn and Aaron Ross, Nubin is paying homage to his old college teammates. Antoine Winfield Jr., the 45th overall pick by Tampa Bay in 2020, has worn No. 31 while picking up first-team All-Pro, Pro Bowl, and All-Rookie honors throughout his young NFL career. Jordan Howden, another Gophers safety drafted last year by New Orleans in the fifth round, also sports the number.
Nubin said both players prepared him to be “NFL ready.”
“I just think that means just being a pro before you’re a pro in how you attack every day and how you do your work before you’re a pro,” Nubin said. “I saw a lot of guys do that. I saw a lot of people do that. I saw Antoine Winfield do that. I saw Jordan Howden do that. I saw [Commanders cornerback] Ben St-Juste do that, all guys that played in my DB room, come from Minnesota, being a pro before they were a pro. I think that’s what it means and that’s why I emulated in college. You see how those guys are doing now, I think that’s a recipe for success if you go in the NFL.”
In terms of the Giants’ roster, Nubin will reunite with a pair of Gophers on either side of the ball.
“Me and [center] John Michael [Schmitz] are super close,” Nubin said about the Giants’ 2023 second-round pick. “I was actually hoping I’d get a chance to play with him and [inside linebacker] Carter [Coughlin].”
5. High school and college coaches say “willingness to put in the work” set him apart.
An Illinois native, Nubin attended St. Charles North High School and led his team to its first ever state final appearance as a senior. That year, he recorded 51 tackles and and broke up six passes. On offense, his primary position was receiver and he caught 42 passes for 549 yards and nine touchdowns, in addition to running for 600 yards and 12 touchdowns on 109 carries from the quarterback position.
