Chiefs long shot Louis Rees-Zammit already winning over the coach who best helps his roster chances
Rugby star turned NFL hopeful Louis Rees-Zammit has impressed the coach who best helps his chances of making the 53-man roster for the Kansas City Chiefs come September. If you're not a starter in Kansas City, you best be on assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub's good side. Outside of Andy Reid […]
Rugby star turned NFL hopeful Louis Rees-Zammit has impressed the coach who best helps his chances of making the 53-man roster for the Kansas City Chiefs come September.
If you're not a starter in Kansas City, you best be on assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub's good side. Outside of Andy Reid and Brett Veach, no person in the organization has more control over the composition of the 53-man roster than Toub.
Toub's approval could be the difference between making the 53-man roster and winding up on the practice squad. That's especially true for a long-shot player like Rees-Zammit. Toub told reporters on Thursday that he's been pleasantly surprised with the rookie from Wales, explaining that he's already exceeded expectations.
"Louis (Rees-Zammit) has done above and beyond what I expected," Toub said. "He can kick field goals, he can be a kickoff guy for us. He's every bit as good as Justin (Reid) is at moving the football and stuff like that on kickoffs. He's really working hard at the returner job. I have him in as a starter right now so that he gets as many reps as he can. He's a student of the game. He comes in after practice. He wants to be great. He's a great athlete."
Not only is Rees-Zammit getting starting repetitions as a punt returner and a kick returner, but he's also working as a kickoff specialist alongside S Justin Reid. That's, of course, in addition to his role as a running back on the offensive side of the ball. The more you can do, the better your chances to make the team
His athleticism and want-to will take him far. That's not to say he doesn't still face challenges. Practically every other player on the 90-man roster has a lifetime of experience in the sport, and he's merely getting the crash course.
"He's just got such a long way to go football mentally-wise," Toub explained. "I mean, these guys have been playing since fourth grade and he hasn't played football until now. So, he has a long way to go with that part of it, but he's on the accelerated program. He's doing well."
One major advantage he has is that the kickoff rules are new to everybody, including Dave Toub. If he can make himself an indispensable asset in that phase of the game, he'll better his chances at the 53-man roster.
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