Why Andre Williams’ future with the Giants looks so bright

In a Giants season wrought with more blight than with bright moments, there have been examples that give fans reason for hope in 2015 and beyond.

We have known for weeks that rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is one of those examples.

Making the same fail-safe conclusion about fellow rookie, running back Andre Williams, after one superior game — his 131-yard rushing performance against the Titans last Sunday in Nashville — might be a bit knee-jerk.

But in a wrecked 4-9 season that's in the throes of garbage time with three remaining games, beginning with the Redskins on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Williams has played well enough to provide a bright glimpse into the Giants' future.

There's something special about the 22-year old Williams. As with Beckham, Williams is mature beyond his years, and does the little things to succeed in a league that requires the best players to do the extra things to become great. Also, like Beckham, Williams is humble.

That's a combo platter of characteristics that are not easy to find.

They're characteristics Andre Williams said he has gleaned from his older brother, Ervin Williams Jr., who is eight years his senior.

"He's like a version of me in the future,'' Williams told The Post on Thursday. "He's like my twin. We're very, very kindred spirits.''

Ervin Jr., who sells real estate and is about to open his own barber shop in the Atlanta area, inspired Andre to play football. Andre would sit in the stands cheering for his older brother when he was a kid and he wanted to be just like him.

Ervin Jr. wore No. 44, prompting Andre to wear the number.

"That number means a lot to him — there are four kids in our family, all of us were born four years apart and he got picked in the fourth round,'' Ervin Jr. told The Post.

Sunday in Nashville was the first time Ervin Jr. saw his younger brother play an NFL game in person. He saw his kid brother run all over the Titans, 24 carries for 131 yards, including a highlight-reel 50-yard touchdown.

It was a powerful role-reversal moment for Ervin Jr., who said he used to look up in the stands when he was playing high-school ball and see Andre wildly cheering him on.

Andre Williams had his best game as a pro Sunday in Tennessee, the first NFL game Ervin Jr. watched him play in person.Photo: Getty Images

Thoughts of throwing the football in the yard when Andre was a little kid, then watching him go on to play high school and college ball flooded Ervin Jr.'s mind Sunday as he watched Andre deliver his first 100-yard rushing performance as a pro.

"I don't think proud truly explains the feeling that came over me,'' Ervin Jr. said. "I was overwhelmed.''

Ervin Jr. had another flashback as he sat in those stands watching his little brother carve up the Titans: He remembered the day when Andre was a 2-year-old and they were with their mother shopping at a store — and Andre was hit by a car.

Ervin Jr. was in charge of holding Andre's hand at that store, but — go figure — Andre wanted to run around.

"He kept pulling away and running around the store; he was making a game of it,'' Ervin Jr. recalled. "I wasn't holding his hand tight.''

When the store door opened, Andre ran into the street and was hit by a car. He was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where his heart actually stopped at one point before he was saved.

"To this day I blame myself for that,'' Ervin Jr. said. "But he never blamed me for it.''

Ervin Jr. recalled when Andre regained consciousness in the hospital he "wowed the nurses'' with a stunning use of vocabulary that completely belied the fact he was a mere 2-year-old.

Rashad Jennings (left) has been a mentor for Andre Williams.Photo: Joseph E. Amaturo

"From that day,'' Ervin Jr. said, "you knew he was a special kid.''

Giants linebacker Spencer Paysinger noticed that long before Williams became a Giant, telling the team's equipment director, Joe Skiba, last year before the draft: "That guy from [Boston College], if he's in the second or third round I can definitely see us taking him, because he fits the Giants mold.''

Veteran running back Rashad Jennings, who has become Williams' surrogate big brother in the Giants locker room, noticed the moment he met Williams.

"He wants to be great,'' Jennings said. "I want him to be great — greater than me.''

That's why, Jennings said, he immediately took Williams under his wing — because he sees big things in the bigger picture, beyond this year.

"We're building for next year, and it's going to take two of us [running backs],'' Jennings said. "I'm trying to get him into the mentality that we're preparing to go to the playoffs, like we have seven games left.''

This Giants' season will end, of course, after three more games. But more performances such as Williams' from a week ago and perhaps the Giants will be preparing for January football at this time next year.

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