Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,969
- 0
MAMBA MENTALITY
Cornerback Jaycee Horn looked up to basketball legend Kobe Bryant as a kid, so his choice of jersey No. 8 seemed natural for him.
Of course, there's still something visually jarring about seeing a defensive back in a single-digit jersey, but his draft status also steered him in that direction when it was time to declare.
"Kobe always been my favorite athlete of all time, and I kind of had the mindset to wear 24," Horn said Saturday. "I always thought in high school that when I got to the NFL I planned to wear 24 to honor Kobe. With the single digits coming, he wore 8 too, and 24 was already taken. I was the eighth pick, he wore No. 8, so it all kind of lined up."
Technically, no player on the Panthers roster is currently listed with 24, though some veterans are still working through numerical choices, so it may already have a home.
What can't be disputed is Horn's reasoning for wanting to honor Bryant.
"Really just his mindset, how he attacked the game," Horn said. "The whole mamba mentality deal, how he just looked at everybody as food. Dominated the game for so long, game in and game out. Just the way he trained. His whole thought process really, made me gravitate toward him.
"I feel like that's the mindset you should have, especially in a game like football. Having the mindset to lock in, even off the field, to prepare the right way and dominate when it's time."