Nate Ilaoa Update

Garret from UH Warrior Quotes found this article from the Eagles website, about Nasti and his roommate, fellow rookie running back Tony Hunt. Here's an excerpt:

Ilaoa knows nobody outside the Eagles. He has his playbook, his friendship with Hunt and his desire to make this football team.

It is a good start to his grown-up, professional life.

"I love it," said Ilaoa. "There is so much to learn. That is what you do every day -- you learn. Then you take it outside and see if you have learned well.

"It can be a nerve-wracking time, but it's been good. Tony is in the same situation, so we have a lot to talk about. He's a good roommate, a quiet guy. I know it has been great for me so far and I'm sure he feels the same way."

...

"We're kind of stuck together with a playbook to learn," said Hunt. "We're partners in that way, so it is good to go through that with Nate. If we have any questions, we can talk about it with each other.

"Nate is a cool guy and a good roommate. He is the guy I compare things with. Two weeks ago, I didn't know anything at that camp (post-draft). I feel like I've already learned a lot, and so has Nate. It's football, when you come right down to it. We have to go out there and play football."

... And here's another article from the Eagles website with Nate talking about adjusting to the offense.

Running back Nate Ilaoa is making progress learning the offense.

"I'm not bug-eyed anymore about it," he said. "I have not played in this system, but it is everything I expected. I just have to keep learning. It's going to be tough. This is the top level of football. Having these camps give me a lot of reps and a lot of time to learn."

When it comes down to it, Ilaoa says, it is "just football." That is a comforting thing for a 245-pound running back. This is not a typical size for a back.

"At Hawaii, the running backs behind me were heavier," he said. "They looked at me as the little guy. I think it's OK to have an unusual body. A lot of models have unusual bodies. That's a good thing for them. You have to go with your strengths."

Ilaoa and Tony Hunt shared all the running back reps last week in the two days of practice and will continue to get plenty of reps through the next few days. And then?

"I will do whatever they need me to do," he said. "The goal is the same for everybody here. We're working to improve every day."