INDIANAPOLIS -- When LSU was preparing for games against lesser opponents during the 2012 season, defensive end Sam Montgomery admits that he wasn't putting forth much effort during the week of practice. He simply felt that he didn't need to try.
2013 NFL Combine: Sam Montgomery admits to only giving effort when ‘needed’ in 2012
Montgomery says when LSU faced lesser teams, his effort dropped during his junior season.
Nelson Chenault-US PRESSWIRE
“Definitely, some weeks that we weren’t playing harder teams, there was some times when effort was not needed,” Montgomery said on Saturday. “It’s definitely one of those things when we had the big boys and everything coming in, the ‘Bama’s or the South Carolina’s, I grabbed real close to those guys and I went all out for them.”
Montgomery seemed nonchalant about his selective effort and is convinced that he will be able to flip the switch when playing in the NFL.
“This is a new league, the NFL,” Montgomery said. “There are no more small teams, small division teams, it’s all Alabama’s, LSU’s every week, so it’s definitely going to have to be something I get adjusted to. I’m sure with the right coaching I’ll be fine.”
While Montgomery openly admitted his lack of effort, he realizes it might come off poorly to NFL teams. He wasn’t afraid to admit it, though, because he feels it’s something that he’s learned from and grown out of since leaving LSU.
“It’s definitely a thing where when you’re young you do things as a boy, when you grow you do things as a man,” Montgomery said. “From a maturing standpoint, going into this league with everything I’ve learned so far, I was a boy when I was in college, now that I’m going to the league, I’m a man.”
Montgomery knows he will have a lot to answer to when NFL teams meet with him this weekend. But he insists that there is nothing he can say to coaches and general managers that will convince them about his effort. Only his play on the field can do that.
“You get your chance, and when your chance comes you dominate,” Montgomery said. “You can only prove it through actions not through words.”
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