Jets vs. Giants is extra special for Jets rookie CB Wilson

Kyle Wilson is a pretty even-keeled individual, a level-headed guy yet someone who's also extremely confident in his playmaking abilities. The rookie cornerback loves to keep the poker face on, the same one he uses on the field to make sure the receiver he's checking doesn't throw him off his game.

So it's no shock Wilson initially responded the way he did when asked about his first NFL start, which comes Monday night when the Jets play the Giants in the preseason opener for both teams at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

"I'm definitely excited at the opportunity just to get out there with the team and compete," Wilson said.

Delve a little deeper, though, about the significance of this start for the Jets' 2010 first-round pick, playing in the intercity rivalry under the lights on "Monday Night Football" and just a deep kickoff from the Piscataway, N.J., native's childhood home - and the 23-year-old flashes a smile, opening up a bit.

"That adds on to it," Wilson said. "It'll be my first pro game, so that will be something that I'll remember. I'm prepping toward that and looking to start off the season the right way."

Said Rex Ryan: "It's going to be great for him. You think about this young man, he went to Boise to play but he grew up in the area, so I'm sure he'll have 25 family members at the game. It has to be a dream come true to be in this kind of situation and to also be named a starter.

"But he has to get used to it because he's going to be playing in this league for a long time."

Wilson has been thrust into a starting role opposite Antonio Cromartie, thanks to Darrelle Revis' holdout. Wilson was drafted No. 29 overall with the idea of serving as the Jets' starting nickel cornerback, but he's spent a lot of time lining up at right corner while Cromartie slides into Revis' spot on the left side.

In other words, Revis' holdout is helping accelerate Wilson's maturation process.

"Just more reps," Wilson said, "a couple of different positions, really just understanding the game from two different perspectives - a lot of stuff at nickel and then things on the outside. Obviously, it's speeding up things a lot quicker."

So far, Wilson and his new teammates have done nothing but make plays against their own in training camp, whether it was during the daily grind of two-a-day practices or the annual Green & White scrimmage. That, however, all changes Monday night, and the players are salivating at the chance to pop someone with a different logo on their helmets.

"It's huge," safety Jim Leonhard said. "You get to this point in training camp, you are sick of seeing your teammates, you are sick of hitting your teammates in practice, and you just want to go out there and play in a real game, get the lights on, see who responds, who doesn't respond."

Kris Jenkins is surely ready to respond. "I mean I just love being able to hit Giants," said the nose tackle, who will get his first game action since tearing his left ACL on Oct. 18. "I'm sorry. Look, they understand it's nothing personal. But every time I see those guys . . . I've had a long history with my days in Carolina playing against them, back when Tiki [Barber] was there and everything.

"I know we don't play them in the regular season. But when we go out there in the preseason, it's fun to give them a little jolt sometimes just to let them know, 'Look, ya'll can say what ya'll want to, but the Jets are for real.' I know a lot of guys have been feeling . . . that's their city or whatever. But we are not paying attention to that.

"That's the cool thing about the football field - at some point, we've got to back that up."