When the Eagles acquired running back Darren Sproles in a trade with the Saints this offseason, they knew they were getting a guy who plays at full speed on Sundays. But Eagles coach Chip Kelly says what has really impressed him over the last couple months is how hard Sproles goes in practice every day.
“We heard from the coaches that coached him what an intelligent football player he is and [we] learned that from the first day he was in this building and how sharp he is and how dedicated he is,” Kelly said, via CSNPhilly.com. “I talked to Norv Turner [who coached Sproles in San Diego] and he remarked to me when I saw him at one of the pro days, he said, ‘You’ll have to slow him down because he only knows one speed.’ And that’s the same thing you see. Darren practices and trains at one speed. It’s awesome. He fits in with the culture that we want in terms of preparation, but it’s everything we wanted when we got him here.”
Malcolm Jenkins, who like Sproles left New Orleans for Philadelphia this offseason, said people who have played with the 5-foot-6 Sproles quickly learn that he’s a lot tougher than he looks.
“I think Darren has a little Napoleon complex,” Jenkins said. “He doesn’t like when people call him small and things like that, so those are the things that he takes pride in, the hard-working things, the things that take attitude and want-to to do.”
Sproles sounds like a good fit in Philadelphia.