Puka Nacua is not resting on its laurels. Instead of relaxing, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year has spent the past two months working out with teammate and fellow Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp at Kupp’s home.
The experience was memorable for Nacua, who didn’t mince words when describing the difficulty of Kupp’s workouts.
“His conditioning days were some of the hardest,” Nacua said on the first day of the Rams’ offseason program, via the team’s website. “I remember the first week I came back, I think I threw up every day of the week. He wasn’t a fan of it, because it was on his lawn and all that. He told me said: ‘You vomit in my bushes Puka, thank you.’
“But it was great fun, and then coming back today, I felt like I wasn’t missing anything. There was kind of a sense of, ‘Oh, I don’t know what I’m going to do to “But following Coop’s plan made it very easy and got me on track.”
The intensity with which Kupp trains should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with his history. Over the past dozen years, Kupp has gone from a prep player who received no football scholarship offers to one of the best receivers in the NFL.
In 2021, Kupp had arguably the best receiving season in league history. He won the “triple crown” (most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns) during the regular season before earning MVP honors following the Rams’ Super Bowl victory over the Bengals.
Kupp’s work – both physically and mentally – was the foundation of his meteoric rise.
“He’s not going to go to sleep until he does something,” Titans cornerback Chidobe Awuzie – who trained with Kupp when both players entered the NFL in 2017 – told ESPN shortly after. long after Kupp won Super Bowl LVI MVP honors. “He’s in the facility all the time, trying to get better at film. And then when he goes home, it doesn’t stop there. It continues. It could continue for eight hours, nine hours, I don’t know. I just know he’s a real football junkie, like a real football junkie.”
Kupp appears to have returned to All-Pro form after injuries hampered his availability in each of the last two years. Nacua, who stepped in when Kupp was sidelined last year, said he was still trying to reach Kupp’s expectations despite last year. statistically historic rookie season.
“He set the standard for us in the wide receiver room and for a lot of receivers in the NFL,” Nacua said. “I mean, being the Triple Crown winner. I talked to him about it not too long ago, I don’t know how many receivers have won a Super Bowl MVP.
“The standard is still very high and I don’t think I’m close to meeting it.”