BE SPEEDY, #EATGREEDY

From LAXMAGAZINE.COM

by Megan Schneider | LaxMagazine.com | Twitter 

Matt Elam entered the NFL with unusual maturity for a rookie.

A first-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Elam forewent his senior season at Florida and was poised to start at safety for the Baltimore Ravens. He negotiated his own rookie contract without an agent, saving more than $200,000 in commission fees, and even trademarked a Twitter hashtag. Then he took a second job in his first NFL offseason to begin building his portfolio for life after the NFL.

Elam's life before the NFL also included lacrosse at W.T. Dwyer (Fla.) High, where he was a ball-hawking midfielder he helped the Panthers to the 2009 state championship.

When were you introduced to lacrosse?

I started playing lacrosse my sophomore year in high school. I had a teammate from football who talked me into doing it, Nick O'Leary, who actually plays tight end at Florida State right now. He was just telling me one day during football practice that I should come out and try it. My sophomore year, I began practicing and by 11th grade, I actually made the team as a short-stick midfielder. I got better the more I practiced. I wasn't really a scorer for my team, but I was running around intimidating people when they had the ball. They would get scared and pass it away when I came toward them. My senior year of high school, I really took it seriously and we won the state championship.

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What was your proudest moment playing lacrosse?

In the state semifinals in high school, I scored my first goal and went crazy. I started running around with my hands up like I scored a goal in soccer's World Cup. That was just so exciting. That was my best moment in lacrosse in those semifinals and then we ended up winning.

How did lacrosse help prepare you for football?

Lacrosse is competitive. It helped me get in shape right before spring football. For my position, it's a lot of lateral movement and a lot of running. The speed work helped me in the end.

Do you still follow lacrosse today?

I actually went to the national championship here at M&T Bank Stadium. I saw Notre Dame play in the semifinals. It was fun. College lacrosse is a lot better because everybody is really good. Seeing it being played in an NFL stadium was pretty exciting. I wish I could be out there.

What do you bring to the Baltimore Ravens?

I bring excitement. I feel like I fit in. I play like a Raven. I play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion and I have what it takes to be a Raven. I have a lot of energy and versatility allowing me to play hard and fast. Because I'm so family-oriented, that's just my drive every day just to do what I can to provide for my family. Same thing for my teammates, I treat them the same way. You've got to play together. We're all in it together. I work with them every day so I want to leave it out on the field for them. My team is like my family.

In your first NFL offseason, you worked at Finish Line. Why?

One reason I took that job was because I went back to school and it was to kill the free time that I had. There's a lot of distractions out here, so I decided to do something — go to class, work out and then go to work also. But I also have future plans to be a businessman and one day, open up my own shoe store. I just wanted to get the retail knowledge and have the experience of working so I know what it takes. My older brother was very big on saving money, so I'm making money in the offseason. We don't get checks in the offseason. I don't want to be spending more than I'm making.

The last safety to be drafted in the first round by the Ravens was Ed Reed in 2002. How do you compare to him?

Right now, I really can't compare myself to Ed Reed. He's a legend. He's a Hall of Famer. But that's why I go out there every day to better myself to try to even do what Ed Reed did. I think I'm very versatile and very athletic like him. He set the standard and I'm here to follow in his footsteps to help this team win just like he did. My goal is to one day be in the Hall of Fame and just be the best player to play my position. Really, I just want to make my family proud.

How did you get your Twitter trademark #EatGreedy trending?

When I was training in the offseason getting ready for the NFL Combine with a bunch of guys, we were going really hard and I just said, "Eat greedy." I felt like it was something that I could keep because it's about going hard every day and making sacrifices to be the best that you can be. When something hurts and you feel like you can't go anymore, you want to make a sacrifice because you've got to get it done. I've got to take care of my family so I've got to be the best that I can be in anything I do.