Los Angeles Rams' Russ Yeast Reveals Two Admirable Teammates
Los Angeles Rams safety Russ Yeast is one of the team's many young and inexperienced starters hoping to become a major voice in the locker room.
Leadership has been a major goal for the Rams organization since training camp, and a few players have stepped up over the past couple of months. Yeast revealed that offseason free agent pickup, 28-year-old cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, has set a great example for the young defensive backs.
"He's the vet in the room," Yeast said during Monday's press conference. "He has that leadership and experience for when things go bad, we go to him."
Former Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth went to his former team's training camp occasionally over the summer, and noted that the "youngsters have infectious energy" and that it felt like a "fun high school practice."
Yeast explained that Witherspoon does a good job of "leveling us out" when the unit gets "a little bit too energetic," but also enhances the room when it gets "a little too low."
Witherspoon has hauled in both of Los Angeles' interceptions thus far, with both of them coming in the last two games. Yeast believes that Witherspoon has been an excellent addition both on and off the field as a player and leader, but one of the captains has also made a tremendous impact on him.
Los Angeles Rams defensive backs Jordan Fuller (4), Russ Yeast (2) and Ahkello Witherspoon (44).
"(Safety) Jordan Fuller is a leader, man," Yeast said. He's a guy that you want to play with and a guy you want in your secondary. "He's just somebody that you would want to be your friend off the field. He's a great dude and I love playing with him.
Yeast explained certain tendencies that Fuller does off the field that he's "striving" to do in the future.
"He's always inviting people to come out to eat or trying to get the team together off of the field," Yeast said. "He invites players to his house all the time. When we travel, he tends to go around the whole plane and talk to everybody."
Yeast, 24, is five weeks into his second NFL season and has been taking pages from Witherspoon and Fuller's books and distributing that knowledge to the Rams' many late-round rookies.
"I tell them my experience each and every day," Yeast said. "It's unique because I was in their situation less than a year ago, especially coming in as the No. 253 pick in the seventh round. I had an uphill battle coming in, so it's a very similar battle to a lot of them. Them being able to piggyback off of me and ask me for a lot of advice is something I take pride in."
