HBO’s season premiere of Hard Knocks debuted last night, and the Oakland Raiders rookie safety headlined episode one of the award-winning television series.
In every season of Hard Knocks, the video crew always gravitates towards one player to capture immense footage of them, making them the star of the show. After HBO aired episode one of Hard Knocks with the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday, it became apparent that this year’s star of the show would be Johnathan Abram.
Abram has a lot of hype entering his rookie season. He was one of the Raiders first-round draft picks, he’s a feisty smack talker, and throughout camp he’s been laying hits on anyone in sight. With all those traits, the Hard Knocks crew has been catching Abram in live action, making him the focal point of the show.
In episode one, HBO displayed clips of a non-padded practice, and Abram still went at it full throttle, checking anyone in front of him. Jon Gruden was not pleased with his young-talented safety, as things like that can increase the chance of injury dramatically. Gruden had a talk with Abram about his actions during practice, letting him know that there’s no place for things like that when going up against teammates.
But it wasn’t just the on-field clips that Hard Knocks featured Abram, they spent time with him and the former University of Clemson star Clelin Ferrell riding horses in Napa. The clips of the two players riding horses gave a closer perspective outside of football, showing their personalities and humor off the field.
🎶 We're brothersss 🎶 #HardKnocks pic.twitter.com/YCC3989OPg
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 7, 2019
Not to mention, Abram also became the star at the dinner table. Derek Carr took the rookie class out to dinner for a night, and Abram’s outgoing personality attracted the Hard Knocks cameras once again. Abram was fascinated with the salmon on the menu to say at the least.
We'll have the seared salmon.@JohnathanAbram1 | #HardKnocks pic.twitter.com/BFVLKfTY9z
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 7, 2019
Ultimately, episode one was a success for the Oakland Raiders organization. The atmosphere of the episode was very positive, as HBO helped shed positive light on the Raiders, which they definitely needed, after posting a miserable 2018 season.
Future Hard Knocks episodes:
-Aug 13th, 20th, 27th
-Sep 3rd
*All episodes on HBO will air on Tuesday nights at 10pm ET