SKULL SESSION: DAMON ARNETTE SHOWED UNREALISTIC TOUGHNESS, WYATT DAVIS WAS NEARLY PERFECT IN PASS PROTECTION, AND URBAN MEYER TALKS DWAYNE HASKINS, TERRY MCLAURIN AND CHASE YOUNG
TOUGH AS HELL. At this point, y'all are keenly aware that this is basically just a Damon Arnette fan blog, and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon, especially after reading this extremely well-done profile by Vic Tafur of
The Athletic, which is an early contender for my yet-to-be-named personal version of the Dundees.
We knew Damon was tough for playing an entire season with a broken wrist, but it hits a little different when you can relive the moment he broke said wrist, and continued playing bump-and-run coverage at Jeff Hafley's order with no further questions.
Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley knew something was up when he saw cornerback Damon Arnette crawl off the field during the Buckeyes’ Oct. 18 game against Northwestern. And then roll around on the ground on the sideline.
Arnette finally stood up, lifted his broken right wrist and made his way over to the headset, where he had a request to make of Hafley.
“He said, ‘Coach, can you, um, call more zone? I can’t use my right hand to press right now. It hurts too much,’” Hafley said in a phone interview Friday. “I told him to quit being a baby and to press with his left.”
Arnette laughed back and said, “Alright coach, I got you.”
Arnette, picked 19th overall by the Raiders last month, had surgery for that broken wrist just a week before the Northwestern game. During the Buckeyes’ bye week.
“He is as tough as I’ve ever been around,” Hafley said. “He was punching the ball out (with) his cast and smiling about it.”
Was there ever any thought of maybe taking some time off after surgery?
“Never … never. Never,” Arnette said in a phone interview last week. “Because it took me about a month to even realize that it was broken.”
So, yes – he's basically a caricature of the cartoon "rub some dirt on it" football culture, which makes him a perfect fit for Jon Gruden.
Other things I learned from this article:
- Growing up, Damon didn't understand why the kids he'd push would cry instead of pushing him back.
- He played linebacker until his senior year of high school, which only adds to his absurd versatility and physicality.
- He's confident his 40 time is faster than what he ran, but knows he's faster on the football field: "I ain't a track runner."
- He considered himself the top corner in the country alongside Jeff Okudah – 1A and 1B
- He's furious he somehow got characterized as having character concerns. “When you hear character concerns, you think about big problems, big red flags … woman beater, drug issues or run-ins with the law,” he said, and that doesn't apply to him.
- If the Raiders didn't take him at 19, another team probably would have taken him in the first round. According to Hafley, "Teams were just being quiet about where they had him on the board."
If you have a subscription, I cannot recommend this piece enough. If you don't, you can make your own financial decisions. I'm not in the business of telling you how to spend your hard-earned money (except the online store that indirectly funds my income – please give that store your money).
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/skul...vis-was-nearly-perfect-in-pass-protection-and