Donald frequently texts Verse and gives him tips on how to improve as a pass rusher
Aaron Donald is certainly enjoying retired life, but he’s kept a close eye on his former team, the Los Angeles Rams. Not only does he attend games sometimes, but he also helps out younger players on the team, specifically Jared Verse.
We’ve all heard about their workout together, which left Verse desperate to leave, but the two remain in constant communication. During an interview with Andrew Whitworth on the “Fitz & Whit” podcast, Verse revealed just how much Donald reaches out to help him as a player.
Verse said Donald texted him after his disappointing performance against the Texans in Week 1, encouraging him to develop a pass-rush counter to his power move.
“Even after our first game against Houston this season, I didn’t have a great game. I was out there, they had a good game plan for me, a good setup for me,” Verse said. “So he shot me a text, like, ‘Hey, man, you’ve got to work something off the power.’”
From that point on, Verse and Donald have exchanged texts throughout the season, with AD suggesting ways for Verse to get even better than he already is. Verse asked Donald about his patented cross-chop move, which he used to generate dozens of sacks in his career, but Verse has yet to master it.
“I’m like, ‘All right, what do you have in mind?’ He’s sending me clips, giving me ideas,” Verse continued. “He’s like, ‘Try this, try that. Do this, try this move.’ I’m like, ‘All right, what do you think about this?’ I’d ask him about the cross-chop. He’s like, ‘The cross-chop’s a good move. It takes a while to master. It took me about a year to master it. If you can knock it out real quick, try it in practice and keep trying it in practice until you feel confident in a game.’ So I’m knocking it out, trying it in practice, trying it in practice. Still haven’t hit it in a game because I’m still not confident in it.”
Donald was the perfect player for young defenders to learn from while he was with the Rams, and he’s still a mentor to guys currently on the team despite being retired himself. Verse appreciates Donald’s help and he’s blown away by the fact that the future Hall of Famer goes out of his way to help him out as a player.
“But he just gives me advice all the time, like, ‘Hey, try this, try that. Or this move right here,’” Verse said. “He’ll send me my clips. He’ll be like, ‘This move right here, if you did this, that’s an easy sack. You’ve got to hit this next time. Once you get in this position, hit this.’ Just to know that AD – the best defensive player ever, first-ballot Hall of Famer, all that good stuff – is reaching out to me to make sure I’m taking care of what I have to do and helping me elevate as a player, it’s helping me so much and it clears my mental sometimes, too.”
Who knows if Donald has a future in coaching, but he seems like a perfect person to mentor young defensive linemen. And what player wouldn’t want to learn from one of the greatest players of all time?
Verse may have missed being Donald’s teammate by a year but he’s got the next best thing: a mentorship from No. 99.
