Clelin Ferrell: 'You've Got to Be Able to Do Common Things in Uncommon Ways'

Former Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell is working on getting better each and every week and with Tom Brady and Tampa Bay up next he thinks the Raiders have a great opportunity to go out and prove something about themselves.

Some thought the Las Vegas Raiders were reaching when they took Clelin Ferrell fourth overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. 

While there has been a learning curve for the former Clemson defensive end, he is determined to keep doing whatever he can to get better from one week to the next. Ferrell says that drive is one of the biggest things he picked up during his time at Clemson. 

"I would say it's the work ethic," Ferrell told the media Thursday. "At the end of the day everybody practices, everybody comes out here and goes to play and goes through drills. But it's not about that, it's about who can do it the best and who can execute the best. A term that always stuck with me was, 'you've got to be able to do the common things in an uncommon way' and that will always give you success."

Throughout his time in Clemson, Ferrell always had the reputation of being an unselfish player. To him it will always be about the collective result as a unit over any individual accolades and with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers up next, Ferrell thinks it will be a good chance to gauge where he and the rest of the defensive linemen for the Raiders stand.

"At the end of the day, I'm more so worried about the group," said Ferrell. "As a group, we still have long ways we got to go, myself included, being a leader. Sunday will be a really, really good opportunity for me to go out there and really showcase my skills, so I'm excited."

Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther says he can see the improvement Ferrell has made and expects that trend to continue. After recording 4.5 sacks as a rookie, Ferrell has yet to register one through five games this season but Guenther is quick to point out that you can't always measure production by the number of sacks a guy has. 

"I think he's getting better every week," said Guenther. "He pushes the pocket, he's really getting to the run game. You always look at the sack numbers but when you're pushing the pocket and creating the ball to come out sooner than it should, it helps everything else out. I think he's only going to continue to get better because he works his tail off every day. I'd love to have 100 of these guys."

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