Antwaan Randle El beams at the memory, even entering his eighth season. He still gets excited to run onto the field for the first time each season. He still gets nervous.
But, the Redskins receiver said: “It’s never like the first time.”
And his first time came was a 2002 night game at New England.
“I was super excited and I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “coming onto the field was a big one. I came out hollering because I didn’t know what to think. And ever since I holler when I come out. I was so thrilled that it was like, ‘I made it.’
“I’ll never forget after the game I was so exhausted because I was up all night and during the day I couldn’t sleep and was so excited that I used everything up in the first quarter and a half or two quarters.”
With six rookies on the roster, the Redskins veterans understand what their emotions will be like. For corner Fred Smoot he noticed a difference in the locker room from his college days.
“A pro’s locker room, you’re dealing with older guys that know how to focus in so many different ways,” Smoot said. “In college we’re rallying together to do this. [In the NFL] it’s more calm, everyone is more to themselves, more professional.”
His memories remain vivid from his first game, a loss at San Diego in 2001.
“It’s like taking a kid to the amusement park for the first time,” said Smoot. “Your eyes are big. Everything is exciting, from the lights to the stadium, you’ve probably been watching this on TV for a while and you get to see players you’ve had the privilege to watch for a long time. When I stepped in, Junior Seau, Doug Flutie, I was seeing all these guys. That’s the time you feel as an athlete that you made it.”
Left tackle Chris Samuels remembered all the adrenaline surging through his body. He also recalled facing Carolina end Chuck Smith, who shares the same agent and ran his mouth in the offseason.
“He tried to intimidate me early, so I was pretty amped up to play against him,” Samuels said. “He was on the tail end of his career, but still a force. I managed to do pretty good against him.”
Even Mr. Medium — coach Jim Zorn, whose debut came with Seattle in 1976 – felt the effects of his opener.
“I just remember how fast it was and I remember walking up to the line of scrimmage thinking to myself, ‘What did I just call?’ And at the snap of the ball remembering,” he said.
As for how his first play went, Zorn said, “It went well. I scrambled.”
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