Oakland Raiders rookie standout running back, Josh Jacobs, appeared on the Dan Patrick show and discussed his troubled youth, football, Hard Knocks and the Antonio Brown situation with the Oakland Raiders
Josh Jacobs made a splash in his first game against the Denver Broncos gaining 85 yards on the ground with two touchdowns as well as one 28 yard reception on Monday Night. The team appeared to rally around him as the starting running back and his maturity showed when he asked Mike Mayock not to appear in Hard Knocks.
Patrick asked him why he wasn’t on there:
"“Yeah, I asked Mike Mayock to not put me on it so……..I really didn’t want any attention. I felt like it was a lot for me to just come in and just focus on one thing and that’s playing football, learning my playbook, fundamentals and all of that stuff……the main thing [is] I asked not to be on….”"
Running back in a Jon Gruden offense is one of the most important positions and seeing him dedicate the entire offseason to learning and not clowning around on Hard Knocks like most rookies would want to do gives me more respect for him. Jacobs clearly has a love for the game and has a desire to be the best at his job.
It shows, too. In the Monday Night Football tilt, the Raiders won 24-16 and that was in no part due to the lack of effort from Jacobs. The rookie had great vision, helped ice the game on a 1st down run under two-minutes left, and also led the team in rushing.
He’s learning and absorbing information and it’s showing on the field. It’s important for rookies to get as much playing time as they can, and seeing him dedicate his life to football is such an inspiration.
He was also asked to comment on the Antonio Brown exit and how he felt about it:
"I mean, I don’t know, it’s a very complicated situation………we didn’t really notice it on the inside. Until you went to your phone or something you see it on social media, we didn’t really notice all the things that were happening in camp, we were just focusing on getting better as a team."
Jacobs was clearly one of the benefactors of said mindest after re-watching the game from Monday Night. Not only that, but rookie Johnathon Abram, before his injury, was getting praise from his teammates as well.
Even Clelin Ferrell got his first sack in a game and looked unstoppable. Kolton Miller looked improved, as well as Trent Brown handling Von Miller with ease. Not to mention Darren Waller taking a big leap forward as he not only improved his blocking ability but also his route running and catching ability too.
The play on the Oakland Raiders Monday night is proof they knew they had a good team, and like Derek Carr said after the game, “we wish the best for AB,” but the team knows it’s time to move on from him and focus on winning.
Jacobs also discussed his childhood which he was one of 5 children in a single parent household and football was the only thing that kept him straight and a few people have approached him about making a movie about his life:
"I’ve been approached by a few people [regarding the movie] about doing it. I haven’t really made up my mind on whether I want to do it or not. So as of right now, no."
As someone who clearly doesn’t like the spotlight right now, he’s just focusing on football and getting his game better.
He was also asked about his childhood specifically and this is what he had to say:
"I never thought that the NFL was a goal. I thought, honestly, college was the biggest thing for me . So just being blessed with the opportunity to go without really any looks or anything like that two weeks before singing day, it’s just a blessing."
Jacobs and his family spent multiple nights all sleeping together in their family car. Him and his father with four other siblings were homeless at one point in their live. Jacobs never thought the NFL was possible or even that he’d be drafted, left alone the top running back off the board in the 2019 NFL Draft.
"My life was very hard growing up, Jacobs said, being five kids in a single parent home, just struggling to eat sometimes, struggled to get things. And then being under recruited, every time you wanted to take a step up somebody’s trying to throw you down. That’s probably just the biggest thing growing up, just the toughness from the lifestyle and everything."
Jacobs is on a team that is one of the toughest in the league, as well as one of the best fan bases in all of football. The Raiders went through a decade of loosing seasons and the Raider Nation still stood strong. Jacobs is a good representation of Raider fans that no matter what, we will always support our team and make sure our team knows we love them.