Browns rookie Myles Garrett determined to build relationship with Bruce Smith

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BEREA, Ohio — Myles Garrett gets it.

The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft realizes how valuable legendary pass rusher Bruce Smith would be as a mentor, and the Browns rookie defensive end doesn’t want to waste an opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players in NFL history.

Smith visited Garrett at his home in Arlington, Texas, to watch college game film and offer advice on draft day in late April. The meeting was set up through the NFL Players Association with input from Garrett’s mother, Audrey, who hails from the same part of Virginia as Smith.

Garrett told the Beacon Journal he’s determined to build the relationship.

“He’s willing to be a helping hand anytime I need it, so I know coming up soon, as soon as I get this couple days under my belt to see what the game is like, see what the pace is, I’ll just pick his brain and see what he can offer ‘cause he’s one of the best,” Garrett said. “I know he’s going to have some useful information.”

Smith is excited about Garrett’s desire to have him in his life.

“It’s a great sign of him embracing this process,” Smith, 54, said by phone. “So the organization and the fans should be encouraged.”

Smith, who knows coach Hue Jackson and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, plans to check on Garrett soon with a visit to Browns training camp.

“We’re trying to work it out for next week sometime,” said Smith, the NFL’s all-time leader in career sacks with 200.

Garrett, 21, has yet to see Smith’s bronze bust in person at the Pro Football Hall of Fame because he has never visited the museum in Canton. The former Texas A&M University standout hopes to have a bust of his own one day.

“I’d like to be in it,” Garrett said of the Hall of Fame. “That’s going to take a lot of work. It’s kind of strange. I don’t want to see (the hall). I want to see it if I’m able to achieve my goal. It’s kind of like a test to me. You don’t deserve to go there unless you’re good enough to be in it. I want to see the greatness that’s come before me, but I also want to be a part of it.

“I don’t feel like I’m worthy to be able to go in there and see guys who played 10, 12, 15, 20 years and gave their all to the game. I haven’t even played my first game yet. So once I get a taste and maybe feel like I deserve to even walk among those guys, then that’s different. I deserve to be among the pros, but the real greats of the game who laid the groundwork and the foundation, that’s something different.”

Smith famously told Garrett he was slow off the ball in college and needs to better anticipate the snap in the NFL.

The 11-time Pro Bowl selection also told Garrett teams will routinely run the ball right at him until he proves he’s more than just a pass rusher.

In a live team drill Saturday, running back Brandon Wilds rushed for a 22-yard touchdown off the side occupied by Garrett, who’s been primarily working with the second-team defense during training camp.

“I went inside (like I was supposed to),” Garrett said. “The play went outside. I could have tried to fight back outside and get to the C gap, back to where the ball was, but I didn’t see where the ball was until it already broke. So my job after that is just trying to support and bring help and we’re all trying to run to the ball.

“In order to be the greatest, you’ve got to be able to (rush the passer and stop the run). Great players are well-rounded and don’t have very many weaknesses that can be exploited. So that’s just part of being a great defensive end, and to do that, I have to be able to make plays on run and pass. So that’s something I work on every day, just trying to get my feet across the line, make a new line of scrimmage and shed and get some TFLs (tackles for loss) as well as sacks.”

Garrett believes Smith can provide big-picture career guidance, too. The Buffalo Bills drafted Smith first overall in 1985, 10 years before Garrett was born.

“He’s one of the few people, definitely at my position, who’s been picked at this spot and one of the few that can relate or who’s still around and wants to give back to those who are going to be in the situation he’s been in before,” Garrett said. “So just to have him around and able to be a mentor, whether he’s here or on the phone or wherever it may be, it’s definitely useful, and it’s definitely great.”

Garrett can lean on a great in-house resource as well.

Browns defensive line coach Clyde Simmons played end in the NFL for 15 seasons and made two Pro Bowls, and he has been impressed with Garrett, especially coming off the left lateral foot sprain he suffered June 14 in mandatory minicamp.

“Myles is coming on just like we expected,” Simmons said. “Coming from whatever was bothering him in the spring, he is showing up. He is doing the same things that I ask of him and everything I ask of him. He is showing flashes every day. He is showing something special every day. I have nothing but good things to think about Myles.”

Garrett has developed a routine in which he sheds his shirt and repeatedly sprints the length of the field after training camp practices.

“That lets me know that he feels like he is not in good enough shape to play our defense,” Simmons said. “I know he wants to be on the field as much as possible and all of that stuff, but he has to be in great shape to play our defense. If he wants to play as many plays as he is trying to play, he has to be in great shape.

“I didn’t tell him to do (the sprints). That is one thing I admired about the young man. He does a lot of things on his own. He is not one of those complacent rookies where he is sitting back and just going through the motions of practice. He works at what he is doing, he asks the right questions and he does the right things all of the time.”

And Smith will be among those supporting Garrett, helping him stay on a path toward success.

“It’s definitely a blessing to be able to have a mentor like that to go to when you need something,” Garrett said. “Just to have him to fall back on, it’s amazing.”

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(c)2017 Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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By Nate Ulrich

Akron Beacon Journ

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