Puka Nacua hasn’t taken the field yet in an NFL game, but he may have already gotten his “welcome to the league” moment in practice, courtesy of none other than Aaron Donald.
Nacua said on “Inside Rams Camp” this week that the biggest difference he’s noticed in the NFL compared to college is the room for error being smaller. That’s because everyone is bigger, faster and stronger, which he got a taste of when Donald tackled him and practice.
Nacua hilariously described what that was like, saying it felt like his whole right side shut down.
“The room for error is a lot smaller. Everybody is bigger and faster and stronger,” he said. “I got tackled by AD and I think my whole right side, it felt like it shut down. I was like, ‘Hey coach, I don’t know if I’m gonna be good for the next one. But it’s been super fun.”
Players aren’t full-on tackling in practice the way they do in games, but that doesn’t mean a thump or hit from a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who can bench a million pounds doesn’t hurt.
Fortunately for Nacua, Donald won’t be tackling him on Sundays so long as they’re teammates, but there will be plenty of other powerful defenders waiting to bring him to the ground this season and throughout his career.
