Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the product you see on game day is the culmination of years of work behind the scenes. Greatness is built in the shadows. Practice, training camp and the preseason help players translate their work into real football scenarios, but it’s the long, hard offseason work of watching film, training and working on their skills that makes players special on game day. Alex Highsmith described this perfectly on today’s episode of The Christian Kuntz Podcast when asked about his pass rush moves.
“Coach (Mike) Tomlin always says the skills have to depend on the position. And we as pass rushers have to use our hands,” Highsmith said. “For example, I’ve been working on my spin move. People can say, oh, he’s working on this move and it just happened. But no, I’ve been working on this move since 2017.”
“…2017 was the first time I pulled it out because I remember watching different guys rush. I was at the facility in Charlotte and watching NFL videos and watching guys like Vonn (Miller) and DeMarcus Ware.”
Highsmith only entered the NFL in the 2020 draft, so his work began long before he wore the black and gold jersey.
Below you can see one of many examples of Highsmith’s effective filming trick via DLineVids on X.
Dwight Freeney is probably best known for this particular move, but there are a number of players who use it successfully in the NFL. Highsmith’s spin is definitely one of the best in the game today. His success with this move is the result of countless hours of practicing it. And his work during practice is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, he said he will practice it on a daily basis while running around.
“I would literally walk around our weight room. If we had just finished a drill or something, I would just raise my arm and spin in the air. People probably looked at me like I was crazy. But I literally got the muscle memory,” Highsmith said.
To be a successful rusher, you must have a plan. The same move won’t work every rep. For example, you may prepare an inside spin move all game long by pushing the outside edge. But when it’s time to execute the move, it must be second nature, ingrained by the muscle memory of countless hours of behind-the-scenes work.
Things have worked out pretty well for Highsmith. He went from college walk-on to third-round draft pick. And now he’s in the top 20 NFL pass rushers in terms of annual salary, averaging $17 million per year.
In four years, Highsmith has totaled 29.5 sacks, 40 tackles for loss and 59 quarterback hits. His sack total was lower in 2023, but his pressure numbers were significantly higher. If advanced analytics are anything to go by, he’s poised for another breakout season in 2024.
