Improved Cushenberry making jump from year one to year two
Aug 2, 2021, 4:01 PM
Making the leap from year one to year two in the NFL is no easy task, but it’s probably a bit easier for Lloyd Cushenberry III this year now having a true offseason under his belt.
Heading into his rookie season last year, Cushenberry was already behind the eight ball, saying he had to prepare to take on the role of a starting NFL center basically on his own from his studio apartment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“I was still in Baton Rouge in my studio apartment. I was trying to learn everything on my own,” Cushenberry said on Monday. “But having a whole offseason full of OTAs, it was good to just get that rhythm up front, get some snaps in, and I feel great.”
The second-year center also spent his offseason working out, and bulking up, with veteran guard Graham Glasgow, who said he saw Cushenberry go from strong to “a lot stronger.”
But perhaps more importantly, Glasgow said Monday that Cushenberry has gotten a better grasp on the game, and his added strength will only help him play faster, both mentally and physically.
“I feel like he was strong, but I feel like he just got stronger. But part of it, I feel like, is the confidence and the play speed,” Glasgow said. “I feel like he’s playing faster. He’s playing more confident. He’s gotten the reps. He knows what to do. And I think he’s going out there and doing it.”
Cushenberry said Monday that last year he “wasn’t good enough” because he was hesitating and still thinking too much. But with an offseason building chemistry with his fellow linemen and continuing to grow in the same offensive scheme, he said he’s put in the time to see the “full picture of the offense” so he can just go “play physical every snap.”
“A big part of my offseason was mental as well, not just learning what I have to do but this full picture of the offense. And it just helps me play faster,” Cushenberry said. “(I can) go out there and just play. I don’t have to think, have to process as much. I get the call, communicate what I have to communicate and go out there and play.”
And the man who ultimately decides Cushenberry’s destiny, head coach Vic Fangio said Monday that the center has “definitely improved.”
“(He) had a great offseason, both physically and mentally. (He) got stronger, studied the game, had the OTAs, the minicamp,” Fangio said. “You know, you always look for a big jump from year one to year two, and I think he’s in the process of doing that.
