Jets cool QB demeanor from early lesson
The knuckle below Sam Darnold’s freckled right pinkie is still slightly out of place. It serves as a once-painful reminder that the New York Jets rookie quarterback needs to keep his emotions in check even in the most frustrating of circumstances. “I feel like I always remain calm,” Darnold said in a sit-down interview with The Associated Press, “just because I learned a hard lesson that day.” It came on a basketball court, of all places, courtesy of a crushed metal door. Darnold was a junior in high school when his San Clemente basketball squad was playing league-rival Trabuco Hills on Jan. 17, 2014. Darnold’s Tritons held a 14-point halftime lead and appeared on their way to an easy victory. Until they blew it. And then, Darnold completely lost it. Seething with anger, the Tritons’ leading scorer and rebounder who grew up loving the
Los Angeles Lakers and dreaming of being the next Kobe Bryant, stormed off the court after the onepoint loss. He did the only thing he thought would help ease the pain.
He put his right fist through his locker.
“At first, I didn’t realize it was broken,” Darnold recalled while lifting his hand and pointing to his knuckle. “You can see it right there. I just punched it because I was so mad and I just sat there (ticked) off. Then, a couple minutes go by and the adrenaline starts to wear off and I’m like, ‘Man, my hand really hurts.’ I’m with my parents at the time, and on the car ride home, I was like, ‘Guys, I think I might need to go to the hospital.’
“We went and I ended up breaking it.”
Darnold didn’t need surgery, but missed the last seven games of the regular season. He would return for the postseason, but his approach to adversity needed serious repair.
“Ever since that moment,” Darnold said, “in times when things maybe aren’t going the way I would
like them to — even in life, not just sports, but life, too — I always try to remain calm.”
The 21-year- old quarterback is the picture of composure and confidence these days, belying his youth and inexperience in the NFL. Darnold’s cool-headed and even-keeled temperament is
that of a veteran, something that immediately endeared him to his teammates and coaches in New York.
“He’s got an old soul, but he’s young in age,” coach Todd Bowles said. “But he understands the game very well and he works at it the right way.”
That doesn’t mean Darnold doesn’t get worked up inside when things aren’t going right. He’s as competitive as they come and might shake his fist slightly if he misses a throw, but locker doors are safe.
“I think for me, it’s understanding that I can’t control anything that’s happened in the past,” he said. “Do I get frustrated? Yeah, definitely. But I know that those couple of seconds that I do think about it — and sometimes longer if I’m on the sideline if I throw a pick or something — I can think about it for a minute or two and just let it go after that. That’s really it.”