NEW ORLEANS—Mark Ingram is not one to rest on his laurels. The rookie running back for the New Orleans Saints refuses to become complacent, despite the owners’ lockout, and he’s chasing success in the next phase of his football career.
Ingram received a Saints playbook—he was a first-round draft pick, taken the day the lockout was briefly lifted—so in a sense, he’s ahead of his fellow ball-carrying brethren entering the league in 2011. But he’s taken extra steps by participating in workouts organized by Drew Brees.
“Everybody’s just trying to stay in shape [and] keep the team chemistry there,” Ingram said at a recent player workout. “Everybody’s out here working hard, getting together and training even though we’re locked out. I think all the guys look forward to this, and it’s good to get out here and work with the guys and get to know them.”
Ingram knows that Brees is the on-field leader of the Saints, and the two have demonstrated a noticeable working relationship so far. The quarterback has taken a liking to his new running back, often pulling him aside to explain the intricacies of an offensive play or point out something the former Heisman Trophy winner might not have seen.
Ingram isn’t using the lockout as an excuse to not improve. He wants to give himself every chance to succeed early in his NFL career.
“I just want to be in top-notch condition—be in the best shape possible—be around the guys and get to know them better,” he said. “I’m trying to get … as familiar with this system as best I can.”
Ingram joined more than 30 of his new Saints teammates for players-only workouts at Tulane University. Players on teams across the league have organized their own workouts, reinforcing that they want to play and that the NFL is shutting down the game.
“I think it’s smart,” Ingram said of the player workouts. “You don’t know what’s going to happen with the lockout situation. So just the fact that most of the guys are training and taking initiative to get themselves in shape, I think it’s good because the lockout could be lifted at any time.
“Just to know that guys are ready, I think that’s good.”
To a degree, rookies are at a certain disadvantage by entering the NFL when owners have locked out their players. Still, Ingram isn’t one to complain. He just wants to play the game he’s played his entire life.
“We love football,” he said. “This is something that I’ve waited my whole life to do—play in the National Football League. So I’m excited and looking forward to it.”
While the fate of the NFL hangs in the balance, Ingram and others are keeping a singular focus.
“I have no control over it; all I can control is being in the best condition I can,” Ingram said of the labor situation. “So that when we do play football, I’ll be in the best position I can to go out there and have success.”
To watch an exclusive sit-down interview with Mark Ingram conducted by Khalil Garriott for Pro Player Insiders, click here.
