His dream was dashed.
Jason Pinnock grew up a rabid Jets fan, in Windsor, Conn., just north of Hartford.
He idolized Darrelle Revis, modeling his game after the Jets’ Hall of Fame cornerback, whom he’d studied.
He followed Revis’ path and went to the University of Pittsburgh.
So, when Pinnock was drafted by the Jets in 2021, it was a dream he never dared to imagine coming true, because it was too perfect.
Then, on the final cutdown day last August, he was released, failing to make the Jets’ final 53.
Head coach Robert Saleh said he adored Pinnock, and it pained him to make the cut.
He called the decision “very hard’’ at the time.
“We hope we get him back on the practice squad,” Saleh added, “but with the waiver wire, you’re always playing roster roulette.’’
Saleh and the Jets lost that game of roulette when Pinnock never cleared waivers to make his way back to the Jets’ practice squad, because the Giants had pounced and signed him.
A year removed from being cut, Pinnock has worked his way into the Giants’ starting lineup as the Week 1 starter at safety when they host the Cowboys in their season opener on Sunday night.
That’s a worthy accomplishment for a Day 2 draftee who converted from cornerback to safety in the middle of his rookie year with the Jets.
“That was my dream team. I was a Jets fan growing up, from Connecticut, was a Revis fan, went to Pitt,’’ Pinnock told The Post. “So, the disappointment from getting cut was the little kid in me, but I understand it was a business decision. No hard feelings.
“It was kind of a blessing in disguise, because I fell into a scheme that fits me and ran with it. It was about being able to get an opportunity. That’s it, that’s all I ever needed was getting an opportunity to run with the [starters] and show what I could do and show what I am.’’
Pinnock used the cut to fuel himself.
“I always play with a chip on my shoulder, so that just gave me another one,’’ he said. “I knew wherever I landed I would find a way. I was blessed athletically and I knew once the position clicked for me, I knew it would be over, I would have a chance in this league.’’
Pinnock speaks with a humble confidence.
He truly didn’t sweat getting cut, because he has so much belief in himself that he knew he’d land on his feet.
“His confidence comes from knowing that no one is going to outwork him,’’ Pinnock’s father, Louis, told The Post. “He’s three years younger than his brother [Louis III], so he was always trying to keep up with his brother and his brother’s friends, who were all three years older than him. That’s where his drive comes from.’’
Pinnock’s older brother, whose nickname is “Trey,’’ recalled their youth when Jason’s mad commitment to sports and his work ethic were evident, even when he was a little kid.
“Jason would go outside — with nobody even playing with him — and do drills by himself,’’ Trey recalled by phone. “He was 8, 9, 10 years old and we still laugh, because he had this saying he would always say: ‘I’m going to the league, I’m going to the league.’ He would say that over and over.
“So, on that draft day when his name came across that board and the Jets called upon him, we were like, this dude’s been saying, ‘I’m going to the league’ all these years, and here he is.’’
Pinnock pointed to his father as the “reason I wanted to put a helmet on.’’
Louis Pinnock played defensive end at Indiana University (Jason has an IU tattoo on his arm) and tried to hook on with an NFL team.
He once worked out for the Giants, who were coached by Bill Parcells at the time, and Louis, who’s just shy of 6-foot-2, recalled Parcells telling the scout he couldn’t sign any defensive end “if can eat peanuts off the top of his head.’’
Louis, who still laughs at that Parcells-ism, never got into the NFL.
He had a short stint in the Canadian League before going into insurance in Connecticut.
That’s why seeing his son in the league and now about to be a Week 1 starter is an emotional moment for him.
That moment isn’t lost on the Jason.
“It is a big deal, starting in the NFL,’’ Pinnock said. “As a kid, this is what I prayed for. But now that you’re in the moment, you’ve got to kind of refocus, because this is where I wanted to be, this is what I’ve been working for. This is a big deal. It’s a checkmark in your career, starter in Week 1.’’
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