Great article on Harrison Smith
Aug 31, 2023 21:40:54 GMT -6
lostdonkey and TheWinterSKOLdier like this
Post by Funkytown on Aug 31, 2023 21:40:54 GMT -6
6.
In 2021, the Vikings drafted Bynum. He was, at the time, the team’s only rookie defensive back, meaning he was on the hook for all of the rookie traditions.
Veterans tasked him with buying food for defensive install sessions. The smorgasbord was not cheap.
“I’d buy snacks and spend, like, $500,” Bynum said.
Bynum was also responsible for securing Chick-fil-A meals prior to games. His rookie contract helped him foot the bill. But each time he showed up with the food, he’d also check his phone and find a text message from Smith.
“Let me know if you need money,” Smith wrote.
“He’d offer to pay for it every time,” Bynum said, “and he did it without making a spotlight on it.”
The defensive backs would also plan dinners. Again, Bynum typically expected to foot the bill. Often, though, no check would come.
The rookie wondered what happened. Did he get lucky? Did the Vikings have a deal with the restaurant?
He later came to find out that Smith had paid for the dinners himself.
7.
Some NFL players stress over their diet.
Then there’s Smith.
“That motherf—– eats a lot of cheese,” Sendejo said.
Before practice, Sendejo would spot Smith walking around with a plate. Atop the plate were five slices of cheese and a sprinkling of lettuce.
“That’s it,” Sendejo said.
Sendejo said Smith would even order a pizza and just eat the cheese off of it.
“That guy can eat s— gas-station food and just respond,” Sendejo said.
8.
Here’s where we have to talk about Smith’s workouts.
“He does his own stuff,” Metellus said. “You don’t even ask questions.”
Team strength and conditioning staffers develop lifts and performance training for most players. Not Smith. Swole as he may be, he does not often pump iron. Instead, he can often be found lying on the ground, rolling around with cables hooking his feet to a machine.
“It’s really abstract,” Bynum said, “but it makes sense.”
Few people understand Smith’s approach better than Petrone, a bearded man who owns a wooden gym in the middle of the woods in Knoxville, Tenn. The two met when Smith was in eighth grade. They’ve worked together ever since. When Smith was at Notre Dame, he’d spend his spring break wherever Petrone was stationed, and they trained together. Ahead of the 2012 combine, Smith lived at Petrone’s house.
The two are a good fit for each other. They both prefer privacy and are spontaneous in the way they operate. During the offseason, Smith will feel an urge to train at random times. He’ll dial up Petrone at 9 p.m. on a Friday: “Where are you?”
“I’m at the house,” Petrone will say.
“Want to go in for a session?” Smith will ask.
He already knows the answer.
The sessions differ depending on the day and how Smith feels. Sometimes, he’ll focus solely on ankle mobility or range of movement in his shoulder by rolling on the ground in specific positions or contorting his arm with a PVC pipe.
“He’s so intuitive with his body,” Petrone said. “He’s more tuned in to his body than any other athlete I’ve worked with.”
In 2021, the Vikings drafted Bynum. He was, at the time, the team’s only rookie defensive back, meaning he was on the hook for all of the rookie traditions.
Veterans tasked him with buying food for defensive install sessions. The smorgasbord was not cheap.
“I’d buy snacks and spend, like, $500,” Bynum said.
Bynum was also responsible for securing Chick-fil-A meals prior to games. His rookie contract helped him foot the bill. But each time he showed up with the food, he’d also check his phone and find a text message from Smith.
“Let me know if you need money,” Smith wrote.
“He’d offer to pay for it every time,” Bynum said, “and he did it without making a spotlight on it.”
The defensive backs would also plan dinners. Again, Bynum typically expected to foot the bill. Often, though, no check would come.
The rookie wondered what happened. Did he get lucky? Did the Vikings have a deal with the restaurant?
He later came to find out that Smith had paid for the dinners himself.
7.
Some NFL players stress over their diet.
Then there’s Smith.
“That motherf—– eats a lot of cheese,” Sendejo said.
Before practice, Sendejo would spot Smith walking around with a plate. Atop the plate were five slices of cheese and a sprinkling of lettuce.
“That’s it,” Sendejo said.
Sendejo said Smith would even order a pizza and just eat the cheese off of it.
“That guy can eat s— gas-station food and just respond,” Sendejo said.
8.
Here’s where we have to talk about Smith’s workouts.
“He does his own stuff,” Metellus said. “You don’t even ask questions.”
Team strength and conditioning staffers develop lifts and performance training for most players. Not Smith. Swole as he may be, he does not often pump iron. Instead, he can often be found lying on the ground, rolling around with cables hooking his feet to a machine.
“It’s really abstract,” Bynum said, “but it makes sense.”
Few people understand Smith’s approach better than Petrone, a bearded man who owns a wooden gym in the middle of the woods in Knoxville, Tenn. The two met when Smith was in eighth grade. They’ve worked together ever since. When Smith was at Notre Dame, he’d spend his spring break wherever Petrone was stationed, and they trained together. Ahead of the 2012 combine, Smith lived at Petrone’s house.
The two are a good fit for each other. They both prefer privacy and are spontaneous in the way they operate. During the offseason, Smith will feel an urge to train at random times. He’ll dial up Petrone at 9 p.m. on a Friday: “Where are you?”
“I’m at the house,” Petrone will say.
“Want to go in for a session?” Smith will ask.
He already knows the answer.
The sessions differ depending on the day and how Smith feels. Sometimes, he’ll focus solely on ankle mobility or range of movement in his shoulder by rolling on the ground in specific positions or contorting his arm with a PVC pipe.
“He’s so intuitive with his body,” Petrone said. “He’s more tuned in to his body than any other athlete I’ve worked with.”
12.
Last January, before the Vikings’ playoff game against the Giants, I asked Smith what he loved most about his job. We were sitting on a couch inside the locker room in the heart of winter. He looked over at the flames of a fireplace and thought silently.
Seconds later, he nodded. He had thought it through.
“The collective of what it takes,” he said simply.
He paused again. I thought that might be it. That Harrison Smith, a man of few words, would leave it there. But he didn’t.
“People always say, ‘Football is like chess,'” Smith said. “It’s kind of like that. I get that. But in football, the pieces have, like, free will. There’s a human aspect to it, and that makes it interesting.”
Seven months later, I think that defines who Smith is. He knows what he’s supposed to be doing both on the field and off it. He knows the rules, the expectations, the guidelines.
But those rules don’t confine him. They don’t prevent him from doing what he feels is right, what he feels like doing, what interests him in the moment, opinions and perceptions be damned.
Last January, before the Vikings’ playoff game against the Giants, I asked Smith what he loved most about his job. We were sitting on a couch inside the locker room in the heart of winter. He looked over at the flames of a fireplace and thought silently.
Seconds later, he nodded. He had thought it through.
“The collective of what it takes,” he said simply.
He paused again. I thought that might be it. That Harrison Smith, a man of few words, would leave it there. But he didn’t.
“People always say, ‘Football is like chess,'” Smith said. “It’s kind of like that. I get that. But in football, the pieces have, like, free will. There’s a human aspect to it, and that makes it interesting.”
Seven months later, I think that defines who Smith is. He knows what he’s supposed to be doing both on the field and off it. He knows the rules, the expectations, the guidelines.
But those rules don’t confine him. They don’t prevent him from doing what he feels is right, what he feels like doing, what interests him in the moment, opinions and perceptions be damned.
Rest at the link above!
... and neither is this Chris guy.