Aaron Donald has been a leader with the Rams for a few years now, being a four-time captain already. But in 2021, he took on an even bigger role as a vocal leader in the locker room, in part thanks to some encouragement from Von Miller.
Miller pushed Donald to speak up and rally his teammates more than he has in the past, emphasizing the importance of leadership. And now, Donald is sharing some of that wisdom with the younger generation.
Recently, Donald was at Simi Valley High School and he gave a speech to the football team about speaking up and not only leading by example, but leading vocally, too.
“Leading by example is good, but to get over that hurdle, you need to be vocal,” he said. “Once I became a lot more vocal, bringing my guys up and getting on the same page, it was like, it was crazy to think what we could accomplish. Leading by example is good but if you want to get over that hurdle and accomplish some amazing things and become champions, the leaders gotta be vocal.
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Even with Miller gone now, Donald will remain a vocal leader within the Rams’ locker room, alongside Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Jalen Ramsey. It’s even more important now with Andrew Whitworth retiring, too.