A Pro Football Hall of Famer has had a big impact on the life and career of a former Clemson football player.
Former Tiger defensive lineman Grady Jarrett, now in his seventh season with the Atlanta Falcons, has a special relationship with legendary Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis dating back to Jarrett’s childhood days.
According to Ravens.com, the bond stems from Jarrett’s father, Jessie Tuggle — a five-time Pro Bowler during his 14-year career (1987-2000) with the Falcons. Lewis admired Tuggle, and they developed a close friendship.
While Jarrett and Lewis aren’t technically related, Jarrett calls Lewis his uncle.
“I grew up with him since I was 5 years old,” Jarrett said of Lewis back in 2015 when Jarrett was at the Senior Bowl, via Ravens.com.
“He’s just always been in my life. I’m real close with the family. His mom is my grandma, his kids are my cousins. It’s a personal relationship; we just ain’t blood.”
During a media availability with Falcons reporters this week, Jarrett further discussed his relationship with Lewis and how the two-time Super Bowl champion and 13-time Pro Bowler has helped Jarrett get to the point he’s at now.
“Whenever you’ve got somebody who’s the best at what they do all time and they’re a part of your family, somebody you’re close to, you can’t have a better role model — especially for me aspiring to be a great football player at the elementary ages,” said Jarrett, a two-time Pro Bowler who has posted 23 total tackles and a sack so far this season.
“And it just was a thing where as I got older and just having support from him and being able to watch him, go to his games and stuff like that, go to Super Bowls, be at the game where he got hurt at and make the triumph all the way back to win a Super Bowl … Just seeing stuff like that firsthand, it taught me a lot of lessons about perseverance, hard work and what it takes to be great. At the end of the day, it’s just about being your best self.”
You can watch Jarrett talk about the impact Lewis has had on him as a player and more in the following video from the Falcons:
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