NOW, lets see if Holcombe II can even be on the same planet matching this. Tim McManusESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- Safety Malcolm Jenkins was asked for a favorite memory of running back Darren Sproles, and instead offered a striking thought.
"Every time I think about Darren, it's really one thing that constantly pops into my head," Jenkins said of his Philadelphia Eagles teammate. "He makes you reconsider if you want to be great."
He makes you reconsider if you want to be great.
Jenkins has seen Sproles' meticulous approach up close for nine years now -- first as his teammate with the New Orleans Saints and now in Philadelphia. He knows how hard Sproles trains. How he takes care of his body. How he always goes full speed at practice, even at age 36. That he habitually finishes every rep, not stopping until he's in the end zone. That he has done this day after day, year after year, without complaint. Jenkins, like most who have come into contact with Sproles, marvels.
PHILADELPHIA -- Safety Malcolm Jenkins was asked for a favorite memory of running back Darren Sproles, and instead offered a striking thought.
"Every time I think about Darren, it's really one thing that constantly pops into my head," Jenkins said of his Philadelphia Eagles teammate. "He makes you reconsider if you want to be great."
He makes you reconsider if you want to be great.
"Not many people can emulate that, which is why he is where he is," Jenkins said.
Sproles is closer to history, needing 35 yards against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox) to move into fifth place all-time in NFL all-purpose yards, jumping over Tim Brown (19,682) and into the company of Jerry Rice (23,546), Brian Mitchell (23,330), Walter Payton (21,803) and Emmitt Smith (21,564).
Olathe North principal and former running backs coach Jason Herman: "Darren was so fast that they said, 'You have to run between the tackles.' If he ran a sweep, he was gone. There was nothing anyone could do about it so they said he had to stay between the tackles to make the game more fair. Well, that didn't work."
Wier: "The infamous one was his daddy, the first time he ever scored a touchdown, his daddy just reamed him because he spiked the ball. He was in like second or third grade and his dad got after him, and he never did that again.
Of note, Sproles' nine career return touchdowns (seven punt returns, two kick returns) are tied for sixth most in NFL history.
Smith: "His senior year, we begged him to come back and he did. We're playing Louisiana early in the season, and Darren runs for like 250 in the game, has some unbelievable numbers, but he fumbled twice. We go in Sunday morning to grade the film -- our staff room overlooked the stadium -- and we just see this guy out there running. Running plays by himself with a ball in his hand. It was Darren. Here's our best player, our All-American, our guy. He knows he's going pro, but just to see him take that part of his game so serious. And what he did is he took the game script out there and ran every play over, and just was carrying the ball, making moves on air. I don't want to make it sound like a movie but it's true, man. The dude was unbelievable. I tell people I've been fortunate to coach a lot of unbelievable players, but by far the best player I've ever coached was Darren."Longtime trainer Todd Durkin: "When I think of Darren, I think way back to the days of LaDainian Tomlinson, when LT took Darren under his wing, brought him into the gym. Those two training together was like watching Ali and Frazier train together, man. My first impression is, 'Does this guy really play in the NFL?' He looks like a high school kid. And then when I saw him start to move, I'm like, 'My goodness. I thought LT had fast feet.' This guy had the quickest feet I've ever seen in my life."
Durkin: "I remember Darren specifically in a workout with LT, a future Hall of Famer, a guy like Drew, who had won a Super Bowl, and guys like Peanut Tillman, and Sprolsey just setting the tone in that workout. It got raised to an epic, iconic level on all aspects. Work, sweat, intensity, energy. I remember the music pumping. I didn't want that session to end because I knew someday the magic in that room was going to end. And it was Darren that set the tone.
"No one else sees, day in and day out, every single day of the week from February through July, the sacrifice that guy makes to be one of the best all-time. I've been able to see that for 10 years, and it's not a surprise to me that when he gets this mark ... it's not a mistake. It's not something that a 5-6, 190-pound guy just stumbled across success on this. It's truly a testament to his character, his work ethic, his determination, his sacrifice, his everything. It's who Darren Sproles is."
Rookie running back Miles Sanders: "That's my dog, man. That's the OG. I told him the first day I met him, I told him, 'For real, you've got all the respect out of me. Being your size, the position that we play in this league, and for you to be here for 15 years, I told him you've got all the respect out of me. I'm in his ear every day, asking him questions, how he thinks on certain runs and certain looks, basically just picking his brain."
Jenkins: "I feel like the last few years, especially with some of the injuries, he's contemplated whether he wants to hang up the cleats or not, I think it's kind of been a year-to-year thing, but I feel like I know him enough to know he can still do it, and he's got something about him that wants to go out with a bang. So it's not surprising for me to see how he's performing this season for us, and I have a feeling this is going to be a special year."
Only 15 players in NFL history standing 5-foot-6 or smaller have reached 1,000 all-purpose yards. No. 2 in that category, Buddy Young (1947-55), finished with 9,593 yards – more than 10,000 less than Sproles. History will judge him not on size but production, and will find in that respect, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Hall of Famers.