Media sessions officially kicked off Wednesday at the 2025 NFL Combine.

Edge rushers, linebackers, and defensive tackles were the first position groups to meet with reporters in Indianapolis.

While a wide variety of topics were discussed, several players were asked about their former teammates who are now members of the New York Giants, and how those older guys impacted their respective paths to the NFL.

Here are some of the Giants connections to the 2025 draft class.

Minnesota LB Cody Lindenberg (2020-24), DL Jah Joyner (2020-24) --> C John Michael Schmitz (2020-22), S Tyler Nubin (2020-23)

Lindenberg spent the last five seasons with the Golden Gophers and shared a locker room with two current Giants players.

Throughout his first three seasons at Minnesota (2020-22), Lindenberg went up against center John Michael Schmitz, whom he referred to as "tough as hell" at practice every day.

"I credit a lot of my toughness to John Michael Schmitz," Lindenberg said. "Just getting his hands on me, getting my hands on him. He was a tough SOB to go against, but it made me a better man for it and a better football player."

The 2024 AP second-team All-Big Ten linebacker wasn't the only player at the Combine that had to face off against Schmitz on a daily basis. Defensive lineman Jah Joyner, who began his collegiate career on Minnesota's scout team in 2020, also saw plenty of Schmitz at practice over his first three seasons.

"Definitely a crazy person," Joyner said about Schmitz. "But truly I was honored to play with him. I was on the scout team when he was at Minnesota, so I was going against him. I had to play one-technique on that scout team, so I was going against him a lot. It was cool."

The two Golden Gophers also overlapped with Giants safety Tyler Nubin, who garnered plenty of praise from both of his former teammates.

"I learned so much from Tyler," Lindenberg told Giants.com. "To have him play behind me, get the calls from him, coverage calls, it feels so … there's not a moment in my mind where I have to turn around and think, 'Does this guy got my back? Does he know what's going on?' There was absolutely none of that. I felt so comfortable with him behind me, and I cannot wait to have the opportunity to hopefully someday play alongside him, play against him, and just see him in the next steps coming forward."

"When I talk about leaders, he was leading by example," Joyner added. "That's definitely a guy I look up to, honestly. He doesn't have to be in your position group. He's a safety. Definitely a leader."

UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger (2021-24), LB Kain Medrano (2019-24) --> LB Darius Muasau (2022-23)

Heading into the Combine, Schwesinger is widely considered one of the top linebacker prospects in the draft. The 2024 first-team All-American comes in at No. 39 on Daniel Jeremiah's latest top 50 prospect rankings, with only one linebacker ranking higher (Alabama's Jihad Campbell comes in at No. 12).

After starting as a walk-on in 2021, Schwesinger slowly worked his way into the Bruins' starting lineup. The 6-foot-2 linebacker put together a breakout campaign this past season, which he credited in part to the impact former teammate Darius Muasau has had on him.

"Darius has been one of the most influential guys, just whether it's me being able to ask him questions about his game and how he's developed, and then just also pick his brain on other things," Schwesinger said. "He's a very cerebral player, as well, and so just learning about how he watches film and the things he looks for with pre-snap and all that sort of stuff has been something that's really helped me move forward."

Muasau transferred to UCLA for the 2022 and 2023 seasons and played alongside both Schwesinger and Medrano at linebacker.

After being named a team captain ahead of the 2024 season, Medrano had his best season with the Bruins, culminating in a third-team All-Pac-12 selection by the conference's coaches. The redshirt senior enjoyed the time that he shared with Muasau in the UCLA linebackers room and praised the Giants' linebacker for his laidback attitude but ability to turn it on when on the field.

"Very, very smart guy, IQ is very high," Medrano said about Muasau. "Great to play with. He's one of those guys where if you had any type of question, whether it's about football or life, he's going to give you an honest answer. I had a great experience playing next to him. I see him doing really big things and give my props to him.

"I feel like he's a laid-back guy, but he gets business done. When it's time to be put in the spotlight, he's going to shine and that's just who he is. But outside of that, he's just a laid-back guy who likes to chill and hang out."

Here is what some of the other draft prospects with Giants connections said about their former teammates.

Oregon LB Jeffrey Bassa (2021-24) --> OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (2019-21)

"KT was a guy who was real hard on me, coaching me, making sure that I was crossing all my T's and dotting all my I's," Bassa said. "I remember a conversation, he was telling me about pass rush. The key to it was get-off. I remember we were sitting down after practice one day and he was just walking through a young freshman, a young linebacker who got thrown into the linebacker room, and taking that right step to be a great linebacker. For him to be hard on me at an early stage, but then the relationship we have to this day, I appreciate him a lot."

One word to describe Thibodeaux: "Unique. The reason why would have to be when it comes to his football game, he's a great pass rusher but then also a guy who can stop the run and a guy who's a physical force playing defensive end. But then as well, off the field, a guy who has a great personality. A great personality and I love that kid."

SMU DT Elijah Roberts (2023-24) --> DT Elijah Chatman (2019-23)

"E-Chat was great," Roberts told Giants.com. "He's definitely wired a little different. He's a guy that since I got there, not one day I saw him take off, whether it was a workout, a practice. He was kind of the glue for us my first year there. There were a lot of new guys like me, Jordan Miller, a lot of guys who transferred in who had to step into a bigger role. Chatman there was the glue, he was kind of the guy that kept it all together on the field, off the field. E-Chat's great. Then as you guys can see, he was able to go into the league and do even better things. He's a great dude, for sure."

One word to describe Chatman: "Explosive"

Oregon DL Jordan Burch (2023-24) --> DT Casey Rogers (2022-23)

"Casey was hilarious," Burch stated. "He was my roommate for hotels, too. He was just crazy but he always lightened the mood. Anytime somebody was down or feeling a little nervous, Casey was the guy you go to."

One word to describe Rogers: "Energetic"

Toledo DT Darius Alexander (2019-24) --> ILB Dyontae Johnson (2018-22)

"It was great," Alexander said about his experience playing with Johnson. "It was wonderful. That's a guy I learned a lot of things from. We just built off each other and just talked a lot of ball."

One word to describe Johnson: "Different"