“I’m from Birmingham, and I played my high school ball in Alabama,” Hatch said. “We had pride in where we stayed. We didn’t go to other schools to seek winning or a championship. We committed to each other.’
“I said if you’re that guy, people are going to find you, because there are guys getting paid to be recruiters to find that kid at that one school.
“He said, ‘Coach, I’m committed. I’m committed. I don’t want to go anywhere. I have pride in my school. I went through elementary (school), I went through middle school here and this is part of my community, and I want to do it for my community.'”
Fuaga will have a community – his own home team – present at Lumen Field on Sunday for what is scheduled to be his 20th NFL game, all starts. “Just immediate family,” Fuaga said. “My sister, her husband, my dad – so, like four or five. Nothing crazy. My parents are excited to watch the game, and my sister and her kids. It’s going to be fun.”
“Fun” hasn’t been the operative word for the Saints as they prepare for their first road game after seven- and five-point losses at home.
By his own account, Fuaga has been slow out of the gate. Right tackle is his natural position, the one he played exclusively until his rookie NFL season, when he was moved to left tackle. Fuaga held up well at left tackle after overcoming a self-described uneven start, and he sees a mirror image now that he’s back at right tackle and readjusting.
“It’s been all right,” he said. “I think the live reps in the game are helping me get better. I’ve still got to clean some things up, but it’s fun on the right side. It’s kind of like [last year]. I didn’t think I started the best on the left side; I got some good plays or whatever, but I feel like I cleaned it up as the season went on. Right now, I’m still cleaning up a lot of things technically.
“It’s a little bit of muscle memory, but I think a lot of it comes from confidence. I’m [gaining] more confidence as I get reps out there. But it’s interesting so far.”
Interesting, because a new offensive coordinator (Doug Nussmeier), new offensive line coach (Brendon Nugent), new offensive scheme, new position and new teammate at guard (right guard Cesar Ruiz) meant Fuaga couldn’t lean on much of anything from last season as a jump start into this one.