Baltimore Ravens rookie offensive guard Olaivavega Ioane didn’t need long to get his first taste of life in the NFL.
On Monday, during the Ravens’ first padded practice of training camp, the first-round pick out of Penn State found himself on the wrong end of a collision with Derrick Henry. The five-time Pro Bowl running back was working through a hole Ioane was still trying to create when the rookie learned just how unforgiving the league can be.
"Welcome to the league, huh?" Ioane rhetorically asked with a laugh.
"That's Derrick Henry right there. He's a big running back - strong guy, phenomenal player, of course.
I'm chasing after the linebacker, thinking I'm going to get him. We both end up on the ground, but great player.
Now I know to stay out of his way."
That kind of moment is a rite of passage for young players, but Ioane’s transition is about more than one hard collision. The speed, force and reaction time in the NFL are all ramped up, and the Ravens are expecting him to handle it immediately as a plug-and-play Day 1 starter at right guard.
"There are a lot of expectations that come with being a first-round pick," Ioane said. "We come in here - we talk a lot about it in the team meeting room - 'prove them right.'
That's my whole goal out here. I've got to earn my keep, earn my spot out there.
While I'm doing that, I'm trying to prove the staff right, prove the team right for picking me in the first round."
That expectation is tied to why so many evaluators viewed Ioane as the most pro-ready guard, and overall offensive lineman, in the draft class before Baltimore took him at No. 14 overall. Since he arrived, the praise has kept coming from inside the building, where coaches and teammates have pointed to his professionalism, preparation and play.
Right tackle Roger Rosengarten didn’t hold back.
"Vega [Ioane] is a stud, man," Rosengarten said. "Coming out here, you can see pretty early on who can move really well and who has the demeanor to be a professional.
Vega is a pro. Being with him and working on our combos, [including] inside zone, outside zone [and] pass pro, I feel like I have been playing with the guy for three to four years.
"It is crazy. The way he moves, his balance, the way his contact balance is at the point of attack, his speed off the ball - I cannot speak highly enough of him.
He has definitely made my job a lot better. I cannot speak enough about him."
Ioane echoed that comfort level with Rosengarten and said the fit has come naturally with the rest of Baltimore’s first-team offensive line.
"I feel like I've been playing with [Rosengarten] for a long time," Ioane said. "He's a phenomenal young player.
[It] feels like he's been in the league for 10 years. When we go out there, it just feels natural to play with those four guys.
Being a young guy coming in, it just feels good to be out there with them."
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