Jake Hummel Preparing Mentally and Physically for Larger Role
Jake Hummel was signed by the Ravens this offseason primarily to be an ace on their special teams units. While Hummel made his impact felt in that regard with a blocked punt in the Ravens’ Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns, he now may be called on as a defensive starter with Roquan Smith dealing with a hamstring injury.
Hummel has started one game during his four-year career. It came in last season’s regular-season finale when Hummel’s Los Angeles Rams already had the division title locked up. Hummel played 51 defensive snaps and made eight tackles.
In Baltimore, Hummel played just one defensive snap through the first three weeks before he was thrust into action after Smith exited Sunday’s loss in Kansas City. In 28 defensive snaps, Hummel made five tackles.
This week, Hummel said he’s mentally and physically preparing himself to take on more snaps and break out of his special teams exclusive role.
“I’m always preparing to play if I have to,” Hummel said. “So, I guess this week it’s nice to know that the chances of being out there are like just higher. You just go into it with the mindset of preparing to take on an extra load.”
Hummel said there’s a conditioning aspect to playing more snaps. While he generally stays in good shape, he may get in extra cardio on an exercise bike or by running after practice. There’s also a mental adjustment that will happen this week in practice.
“I’m always excited to be able to get on the field at linebacker,” Hummel said. “I think part of it, too, is just getting enough game reps to feel comfortable out there. Sometimes you don’t play linebacker very often. It could be games or weeks or half a year where you might not be getting your linebacker reps for real. So it’s just kind of getting in that groove as fast as you can and just processing like a linebacker, in that mental space.”