New England Patriots linebacker Josh Uche has a bit of a mean streak on the gridiron. For that, he credits his youth football days, where he says the mean streak began. More specifically, a lesson still resonates with him.
In speaking to the media on Friday, the linebacker indicated that his toughness stems from his days playing youth football in Florida. As he indicated, his Pop Warner coach told him to flip the switch as soon as he got between the lines.
All these years later, he still knows when to flip the switch.
“That just goes back to where I’m from,” Uche said Friday in a video conference. “I’m from Miami, Florida. Growing up in Miami, Florida, is a football hotbed. I just always remember my Pop Warner coach, Coach O, he told me, ‘It’s OK to be a nice guy, but when you get on the field, you’ve got to flip a switch.’ You’ve got to become kind of a — for lack of a better word — a mean streak, if you will.
“That’s the mentality I took with me up until now. When you step on the field, you’ve got to flip that switch and turn up the intensity and the passion. That’s kind of how I go.”
With New England taking part in their final preseason game on Sunday, Uche will look to be in the middle of what is a deep linebacker position.
