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In hindsight, Aaron Donald seems like he should have been a sure-thing prospect coming out of Pitt: He won every major award for the best defensive player in college football, he was the best player on the field in Senior Bowl practices, and he lit up the Scouting Combine. But Donald lasted until the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, and Lions General Manager Brad Holmes, who was with the Rams when they drafted Donald, says it was Donald's off-field approach that made him truly special.
Holmes said on The Season with Peter Schrager that when he went to Pitt to scout Donald, Pitt's defensive coordinator urged Holmes to show up to practice early. That's when Holmes learned just how passionate Donald is about playing, and practicing.
"I go out there and I walk out to the [practice] bubble, and it’s the ball boys, the equipment managers, the specialists . . . and Aaron Donald. Those are the only people in the bubble,” Holmes recalled, via the Detroit News. “And Aaron Donald is sitting on his back, fully taped up with this twitch in his knee, as if like, ‘Man, I’ve been waiting for this all day. Where’s everybody at? Because I’ve been waiting on this all day.’”
Cooper Kupp, who played his college football at Eastern Washington, was different than Donald as a prospect but similar in his approach to the game.
“It was the same way with Cooper Kupp when we drafted him,” Holmes said. “And that’s when it really hit me. I’m like, ‘Look, man. If these players don’t have the intangibles and the passion and the work ethic and the football character, it’s not gonna work. That’s just the bottom line.’”
Holmes learned from Donald and Kupp that players who show up every day wanting to get better are the ones he wants on his team. And he's trying to build a roster full of such players in Detroit.
Continue reading...
Holmes said on The Season with Peter Schrager that when he went to Pitt to scout Donald, Pitt's defensive coordinator urged Holmes to show up to practice early. That's when Holmes learned just how passionate Donald is about playing, and practicing.
"I go out there and I walk out to the [practice] bubble, and it’s the ball boys, the equipment managers, the specialists . . . and Aaron Donald. Those are the only people in the bubble,” Holmes recalled, via the Detroit News. “And Aaron Donald is sitting on his back, fully taped up with this twitch in his knee, as if like, ‘Man, I’ve been waiting for this all day. Where’s everybody at? Because I’ve been waiting on this all day.’”
Cooper Kupp, who played his college football at Eastern Washington, was different than Donald as a prospect but similar in his approach to the game.
“It was the same way with Cooper Kupp when we drafted him,” Holmes said. “And that’s when it really hit me. I’m like, ‘Look, man. If these players don’t have the intangibles and the passion and the work ethic and the football character, it’s not gonna work. That’s just the bottom line.’”
Holmes learned from Donald and Kupp that players who show up every day wanting to get better are the ones he wants on his team. And he's trying to build a roster full of such players in Detroit.
Continue reading...
