The big man cast a quizzical look downward, as if he perhaps did not hear the question correctly.

“The what song?” B.J. Hill asked.

Everyone around the Giants, and most everyone in his life, refers to Hill by the initials he uses to introduce himself. His given name is fairly unusual and not known by many in the sphere of influence of the second-year defensive lineman from North Carolina State.

Bobby Jean.

Yes, the same as the Bruce Springsteen song of the same name, an ode to reminiscence and friendship.

It comes as no great shock that Hill, 24, is not able, upon request, to hum “Bobby Jean,” written 35 years ago. Did he ever hear the song?

“No, I don’t think so,’’ he said, looking confused with the entire discussion.

Hill asked: Who did you say it was that sang the song?

Bruce Springsteen, he was told, again — this time with clearer intonation, extra emphasis and the added information that this artist is considered a rock-and-roll legend.

Blank stare from Hill.

“No, I don’t listen to rock-and-roll,’’ Hill said.

Hill grew up outside of Charlotte, N.C., and none of this resonated with him — though he now goes to work, literally, in the swamps of Jersey so often recounted by Springsteen.

Hill did appear slightly intrigued his little-known first name was in a song title.

“OK, I may look it up,’’ he said.

Unlike Springsteen’s homage to the faithful Bobby Jean, there are oh-so-many doubters who turned away, turned up their nose at this Giants defense. Hill, a third-round pick in 2018, set a franchise single-season record rookie record with 5.5 sacks — this is misleading, considering Lawrence Taylor had 9.5 sacks as a rookie in 1981, one year before the NFL recognized sacks as an official statistic. Still, after Hill’s four-year college career produced just nine sacks, the output last season was encouraging, and the hope is he can be a 6-foot-3, 310-pound force lining up in a defensive end spot on the three-man defensive line.

Hill is an affable guy, but he does not seek the spotlight. Requesting he come out to talk during media sessions is a hit-or-miss proposition — sometimes he does, sometimes he does not. New on the scene is a more highly acclaimed defensive lineman, 21-year-old first-round pick Dexter Lawrence, at the other end spot, and the young starting trio also includes 25-year-old Dalvin Tomlinson — a second-round pick in 2017, a run-stopper in the middle.

“Coming in last year, I really didn’t know anything,’’ Hill said. “Now I know what to expect — how the season goes, how practice goes, how the games go. I’m excited for this year.’’

He said his confidence is “out the roof’’ after a rookie year he described as “all right,” based on not attaining the standard he set for himself.

“I left some plays out there that could have helped us in multiple ways,” Hill said. “Still got to improve this year, come out and do way better.”

For those who do not view him as a legitimate pass rusher, Hill is unconcerned about that concern.

“I knew what I can do, my coaches knew what I can do,’’ Hill said. “To me, I really don’t care if it surprised people or not.’’

Those who know him best on the field and in the locker room anticipate an emergence.

“Oh, you can just tell B.J. is more comfortable this year, just running different games,” Tomlinson said, “and just playing beside him in the run game, he’s more patient with things, like playing run blocks and things like that. B.J. is playing pretty well this year.”

Hill can be frisky in practice, yapping a bit when the defense is getting the better of the offense.

“To me I don’t think you got to have a lot of big names to win championships,” Hill said. “I believe we have a great group of guys willing to leave it all out there each and every night with great effort and doing what the coaches give us, just a great plan. To me, if they ain’t in our building, I really don’t care. So whatever they think, it’s out the window. I care what my guys think and how we’re playing.”

One year ago, few Giants players knew the details of Hill’s given name. He is Bobby Jean Hill Jr. and says of his name, “I got it from my dad, so I love it.”

From time to time, one of Hill’s teammates will ask him what B.J. stands for, and he is not always in the mood for a tutorial.

“I might not tell them,” he said. “It depends on how I feel, depends on what kind of day it is.”

Springsteen purposely injected an ambiguous nature into the meaning of “Bobby Jean.’’ Many of his fans speculate it was written for Steven Van Zandt, the guitarist who left the E Street Band during the recording of “Born in the USA” (he returned years later). The Giants’ Bobby Jean is not going anywhere any time soon, even if he prefers to go by plain old B.J.