Thomas Fidone lost two full seasons of his college football career due to consecutive ACL injuries in his left knee. Nevertheless, his performance at Nebraska was strong enough to earn him a seventh-round selection by the New York Giants.
Speaking to the New York media on Saturday, Fidone reflected on his journey and the challenges he faced.
“It was definitely difficult,” he said. “But I’ve always believed I wouldn’t change it. Those injuries shaped who I am, both mentally and physically. They pushed me to train harder and come back even stronger. That was always my goal—return better than before.”
Fidone leaned on the lessons he learned from his first knee injury to get through the second.
“I’ve got a tight-knit family and a great group of friends who supported me,” he said. “I came back fast and explosive after the first one, so I knew I could do it again—maybe even better. It was unfortunate, but I had experience and I understood what it took.”
Now a 6-foot-5, 243-pound rookie, Fidone is more than just a football player. He’s also a self-taught tattoo artist—and has even inked himself.
“It was tough because it hurts when you’re tattooing yourself,” he explained. “When someone else does it, you can’t really complain. But when it’s you, you’re in control—so getting through it was part of the challenge.”
He picked up tattooing during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“After my training sessions in the morning, I had the whole day with nothing open. It was winter, and I needed something to do,” Fidone said. “So I started teaching myself how to tattoo.”
“I watched a lot of YouTube videos—how to set the depth, choose needles, and avoid infections. Basically, how not to mess someone up.”
Fidone also credited his time at Nebraska under former Giants assistant and Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule with helping him adjust to the NFL.
“Coach Rhule brought a lot of NFL-like concepts—similar formations, complex terminology,” Fidone said. “We didn’t use simple one-word calls; it was long, detailed play calls. So learning to process that helped me transition to this level.”
