PREPARED TO PLAY My parents made me play basketball, football, and baseball. We actually went to the championship in peewee football, so I missed my early baseball practices and showed up to the first game having never played before. I asked the coach what to do and he said just hit the ball and run the bases as fast as you can to get back to home plate. So I get up, hit the ball, and run straight to third base and then back to home plate. I thought I was safe since I didn’t get thrown out!
CORE FOCUS I look forward to training my core—not just abs but my actual core. It’s the center of everything.
PLAYER PRESSURE I have high expectations and I hold myself to a higher standard and accountability than any other human can put on me. I think that I’m my own biggest critic, so anybody else’s opinion is in one ear, out the other.
CHAMPIONSHIP TRAINING After the season ends, I go to Florida and work on maintaining strength, function, and movement prep. When I’m back in the city I like to run for 45 minutes up and down the 1,177-foot viaduct in Hoboken, NJ, once a week, increasing my speed each lap. Then after OTAs (organized team activities) I start working on core and inner strength. I start heavy lifting right before training camp begins.
PERFECT PARTNER I’m also a goofball and a big nerd, so my partner has to be goofy enough to laugh at herself. That’s huge for me. She has to be family oriented in a way where she wants to create a legacy that will outlive her; I think that makes sense in a relationship. I look for someone who is spontaneous and loves surprises because I’m full of them.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT One game, when I was in pass protection, I saw how everything was going to happen before the quarterback even said hike. It was like a chess match; I’ll never forget it.
SUSHI LOVER I’m the biggest sushi fan you’ll ever find. My favorite is the Hot Salmon Tuna Roll—I can’t get enough of it.
HOBBIES In my spare time I like playing the guitar, writing, and composing poetry.
POST-GAME RECOVERY I get a lot of massages, use the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, and visit the chiropractor.
GIVING BACK I started the Rashad Jennings Foundation because I used to be a short, overweight, chubby kid with asthma and a 0.6 GPA average. So I have a reading challenge for the kids to focus on literacy and a football camp called Camp 180 to inspire youth to stay fit and learn about mental preparation.
