Remembering Hard Knocks stars as high school recruits
Hard Knocks, the annual summer-time tradition from HBO that lifts the curtain on NFL training camps, premiered on Tuesday night and as usual the show had social media buzzing. This year’s show follows the Cleveland Browns as they prepare for the upcoming season. Some of the names on the show might be new to NFL fans, but recruiting fans will recognize several of the major players. Here’s a look back at where some of the premiere’s stars stacked up as high school recruits.
As a recruit: A five-star in the class of 2011, Landry committed to LSU more than a year before Signing Day and even though there were some ups and downs he stuck with Tigers. Once at LSU, he teamed with Odell Beckham to form quite the pass-catching duo and finished his college career with 1,809 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. Landry left early for the NFL and was a second round pick of the Dolphins in 2014 and wasted no time making an impact in the NFL. Over his first four seasons he averaged 100 catches and more than 1,000 yards per season and led the NFL in receptions with 114 in 2017. Despite his gaudy numbers, the Dolphins elected to trade Landry to the Browns this offseason after being unable to sign him to a long-tem deal.
Hard Knocks storyline: Landry arrives as a star veteran trying to change the culture of the winless Browns. He takes his teammates to task in the wide receiver meeting room with a passionate speech about not sitting out practice unless you are hurt, and giving your all when practice is in session. He later makes the play of the episode with a one-handed catch in traffic during the team's first full-contact scrimmage.
As a recruit: Baker Mayfield had a trio of offers as a three-star in 2013, but passed on a scholarship to walk on at Texas Tech. He won the starting job out of camp and earned Big 12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors. But after the Red Raiders declined to give Mayfield a scholarship, he transferred to Oklahoma, where he walked on again. After sitting out year, Mayfield quickly worked his way into the lineup, unseating starter Trevor Knight and going on to come one of the best walk-on to star stories in recent college football history. Mayfield capped off his career by winning the Heisman Trophy and was selected by the Browns with the No. 1 overall pick earlier this year.
Hard Knocks storyline: Mayfield’s story is well known and it’s not a surprise he was prominently featured on the season-opening episode. He is battling Tyrod Taylor for the starting job and his off-field personality shines on screen, especially when he was asked to get up and sign in front of team and performed a surprisingly adequate version of Bob Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
As a recruit: Nassib had no recruiting interest to speak of as a high school prospect, despite being the younger brother of former Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib. A long, skinny athlete who played sparingly during his senior year of high school, Nassib had no scholarships and elected to walk on at Penn State.
Even after making the team he had very little impact during his first four years on campus, but as a fifth-year senior in 2015 he had a breakout year, leading the nation in sacks (15.5) and forced fumbles (six). The season put him firmly on the radar of NFL teams and he was selected by the Browns in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Through two seasons with the Browns, Nassib has 34 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
Hard Knocks storyline: Nassib popped on screen while giving his fellow defensive lineman tips on financial planning, including explaining the concept of compound interest. He was also singled out by head coach Hue Jackson in front of the team for posting a picture of himself with Taylor Swift. During the financial planning session, Nassib revealed that he was able to buy a Rolex prior to meeting Swift thanks to the money he made via compound interest.
As a recruit: Just a three-star recruit, Christian Kirksey only had offers from Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin and committed to the Hawkeyes in August before his senior year. Kirksey didn’t receive many accolades while playing for Iowa, but he was a talking machine, accounting for at least 95 tackles as a sophomore, junior, and senior. The Hawkeyes made three bowl appearances while Kirksey was on campus and the Browns took him with the seventy-first pick in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Hard Knocks storyline: Even though Kirksey may not be the best player on Cleveland’s defense, he has taken on a leadership role early in training camp. Defensive coordinator Greg Williams made it clear that he doesn’t want to be as hard on the defense as he was last year and Kirksey is clearly doing everything he can to be a coach on the field for the defense. It was also interesting to see Kirksey spend time away from football practicing his drumming.
As a recruit: A four-star prospect from Ohio, Brogan Roback didn’t have an offer sheet that typically comes with a four-star rating. In July prior to his senior season, Roback committed to the MAC’s Eastern Michigan. His only other offers were from schools like Miami (OH) and Bowling Green despite having thrown for coaches from Indiana, Rutgers, Oklahoma State, and Iowa. In his final three seasons at Eastern Michigan, Roback completed just under 60-percent of his passes and leading his team to a bowl game. He signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent this year.
Hard Knocks storyline: The Cleveland quarterbacks have an RV they use for hangouts, meetings, and just relaxing away from the team and it is stocked with snacks, drinks, and other amenities. Roback, fourth on the depth chart and a rookie, is in charge of stocking the RV with everything the quarterbacks could want. It looked like his efforts were going to be well-received by the other quarterbacks but Drew Stanton seemed unhappy with the leftovers in the refrigerator and the lack of water bottles available to the group.
