Cherry focused on work, instead of finding name on roster
PHILADELPHIA » Each time Eagles linebacker Don Cherry steps on the field, Stephen Tulloch is with him.
Cherry was released three times last year and wondering when it would be four when Tulloch, the veteran linebacker, made him hit the pause button.
“He told me ‘don’t pay attention to the depth chart, just keep working’ and that’s been my philosophy ever since,” Villanova product Cherry said. “I’m not really paying attention to the depth chart or what anyone else thinks, I’m just trying to work on my craft, get feedback from get better.”
Tulloch is retired. Cherry is benefitting from his wisdom.
Leaner and immensely more confident, Cherry, the 6-2, 240-pound two-time AllAmerican with the Wildcats, stepped into the Philly lineup as the second-team middle linebacker.
Though the big test arrives when the hitting begins in training camp, the secondteam snaps are a valuable learning experience.
“It’s a different tempo and I think it’s a different expectation level from the coaches and the people around you, the people on the field,” Cherry said. “Especially playing MIKE, you have to command the coaches and respect. You have to bark out the calls and make sure everyone’s on the same page because if you don’t, they’re not going to trust you.”
Cherry had a youthful moment barking out a call to veteran Chris Long, who he knows fairly well from Villanova golf outings. Chris and Kyle Long, who Cherry met during a tour with the Bears last spring, team up with their Pro Football Hall of Fame pop Howie at the annual ’Nova golf outing. The adrenaline must have gotten to Cherry when he called for Long to drop into coverage.
“I was on the field with him and I was getting a call set up and we changed the side of the pressure so I was yelling at him to change,” Cherry said. “But I was actually the one messed up. He came up to me and he was like, ‘Bro, not me,’ and he was really cool about it. Even a veteran, to be cool and calm like that was great to see.”
Chris Long had a pretty good laugh over the mistake because he could see the youth pouring out of Cherry.
“Those guys get us lined up all the time,” Long said of the linebackers. “It’s nice to be able to one-up them every now and then.”
Cherry has been flooded with comfortable ’Nova vibes in the offseason. Wildcats teammate Austin Calitro (60, 245), who registered 86 tackles last season, including 12 for loss, joined the Eagles on a rookie tryout deal this week. Cherry and Calitro are from Connecticut.
“He’s one of my best friends,” Calitro said. “We live 20 minutes away from each other. The first time I met him was at a camp and he comes up to me and he goes, ‘Oh, you’re Austin.’ And I go ‘Oh you’re Don.’ And that’s when we became best friends. He doesn’t say much. He talks through his actions.”
It’s safe to say Cherry, who finished the 2016 season on the practice squad, has impressed teammates. Long appreciates his focus.
“He’s a good kid who works hard,” Long said. “He’s got a lot of skills and brings a lot of different things to the program. And obviously I’m keeping an eye on him being a Villanova guy.”
Cherry is an inspiration to Eagles veteran linebacker Nigel Bradham, who appreciates the kid’s attitude.
“He’s come through so much adversity already,” Bradham said. “The times of him getting cut almost every other week and then coming back on the team, his mentality helped him overcome that. That’s why he’s here today because he has a mentality like not too many people have. He’s not going to quit on you. He’s going to always come in and work and give you 100 percent every time. He’s a great player with a great mind and that’s what makes him stick out.”