“Maxx Crosby, T.J Watt Type”: Laiatu Latu Names the Pass Rushers he Models His Game After

Laiatu Latu has been a force of nature during his college career and with him making his debut in the NFL, excitement is afoot. With his high ranking as a defensive player for the UCLA, him getting picked 15th overall was not surprising.

Moreover, the pass rusher has become popular for his true ability to get past the line of scrimmage. And as the league awaits his presence on the gridiron, the defensive end has already set his eyes on the kind of NFL players he wants to model his game after.

The rookie was talking to Cam Jordan, explaining the role models he’s had from the league and why. With his position as a pass rusher, Latu has a lot of players to look up to. The league has seen players like Maxx Crosby and TJ Watt become a menace for any of the offenses they play.

In fact, whenever Crosby plays the Chiefs, his battles with Mahomes become the game within the game. And these are the players the rookie is deriving inspitration from. He even explained the reason behind wanting to play like them. He said, “It’s Max Crosby, TJ Watt type. Creating havoc at the moment, really just creating Havoc getting off that rock playing with like that relentless effort. That’s why I like Max Crosby a lot too like he played like it’s his last snap like pretty much every time.”

From his idols and his attitude, it’s clear that the rookie views the game with the same spirit that Crosby does. Latu has established that he wants to put in all of his effort into the snap he plays. Moreover, he also explained how his inspiration to play as a defensive end has also come from his time playing rugby.

Laiatu Latu and his connection to rugby

While he aims to model his style of play after some of the best players in the league, Latu mentioned how playing rugby has helped his game. A high school rugby player, Late had left the sport in order to pursue football. But after a threatening neck injury almost ended his career, Latu went on to use rugby as a way to rehab. During this rehabilitation, Latu drew inspiration from his roots in rugby.

The Colts rookie aimed to emulate the kind of defensive skills that he displayed while playing rugby and this indirectly helped him better his understanding of defense on the gridiron.

While the neck injury he suffered a couple of years ago was a treacherous one, his commitment to his sport helped him overcome the obstacle. And now, he seems like he’s ready to tear it up in the NFL. With the level of skill Latu has displayed at the college level, offenses in the league have to watch out for the kind of destruction he can cause. It only remains to be seen how well he’ll contribute to the Colts and how his performance will impact their overall standing in the upcoming season.