Terrion Arnold, a soon-to-be rookie with the NFL’s Detroit Lions, said rough housing with his mom aided in his success. At Lions’ rookie camp, he revealed how his competitive nature comes from his biggest supporter, his mom, Tamala.
“Even as a kid, when I used to beat my mom at racing, I had to continually beat her,” said Arnold as reported by Pride of Detroit. “We used to fight when I was younger, just wrestling and playing around. Like, man, I’ll never forget one time my mom kicked my tooth out because we were going at it so hard.”
The cornerback emphasized how deep their competitive dynamic goes, even saying he would “jam her” if she lined up like on the football field.
“If my mom was out here right now and lined up across from me as a receiver, I would jam her into the dirt,” said the 21-year-old. “That’s just my mindset. And my mom knows that. Football-wise, that’s just the way that I think, and the way that I was brought up.”
Arnold hopes to bring that feistiness to the upcoming NFL season. As for the mother-and-son duo, the love remains strong between the two. He expressed how “blessed” he is to have a mother that fierce and supportive. Yahoo Sports re-shared his heartfelt message to the NFL Network during the scouting combine earlier this year.
“Mom if you’re watching this right now, your son just wants to say how proud he is of you,” shared Arnold. ” I just want to say, Tamela Arnold, I love you and I’m blessed to have you as a mom. You overcame a lot and with that being said, I’m gonna continue to keep shining. Just how you raised me to be. I’ll never forget where I came from.”
Arnold, a cornerback out of the University of Alabama, was drafted by the Lions 24th overall in last month’s NFL Draft.
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