5 hot LA Rams training camp takeaways from Hard Knocks episode 3

Takeaway 4

Takeaway 4: Clay Johnston looks the part now. After a shaky debut in the first episode of HBO Hard Knocks: LA, Johnston at least appears to be making football plays. That’s encouraging.  He’s on a very steep learning curve. That’s not an easy path to walk. Meanwhile, there is an incredible amount of pressure upon the LA Rams at the inside linebacker position. The pressure to find a starter is real and tangible. It’s weighing heavily on the prospects who are trying to make the roster, as well as the players trying to earn a roster spot.

Rookie inside linebacker Clayton Johnston is trying to make his NFL dreams come true, and he plays with a lot of passion. While passion is not enough to land him a starting spot on the teams active 53, it likely will be enough to propel him onto the Rams practice squad.

How Favre can Johnston go in the NFL?

And Brett Favre is his motivational coach. How cool is that?  Well, it’s a bit of payback, as Clay Johnston’s father, Kent Johnston, was an NFL strength and conditioning coach for over two decades in the NFL, and was the best man at Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre’s wedding. So it’s only one man standing up for his friend, or his friend’s son.

The emotional and mental toll on each and every young man in NFL training camp should not be poo-pooed by observers or fans so lightly. These young men are immersed in football, sprinting towards the 53-man cut to determine if they stay to play. The next day, they learn if they remain as a developmental player to continue pursuing the dream to play next season.  Or they are giving the word to return to civilian life. That is terrifying to a young man from a football family.