Maxx Crosby is the first player to the Raiders’ facility most days, but based on his comments this week, there is a young player on the roster this year who has been putting in the same level of early-morning effort.
Speaking with members of the media on Thursday, Crosby said second-year defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway has been putting in early work, showing up at or before 6 AM the way Crosby has been for years.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Crosby told Sports Illustrated about Hemingway.
“He’s only in his second year. He carries himself like a vet… and that’s very rare for a guy of his age. He’s got a unique combination of athleticism and strength and explosiveness that he can cause a lot of issues for guys on the interior. He’s been awesome.”
“Every single day when I get in here it’s literally me and him are the first people here. It’s dark and you hear crickets and sh–. Literally, I know where’s Tonka’s going to be, and I know where I’m going to be, so we just cross paths, look at each other, [say] ‘What up?’ and we put our work in. When you see guys like that, especially at that age, he’s a second-year guy already getting in here that early and putting in the extra work all the time, it doesn’t surprise me at all when I see, when the world gets to see the results on Sundays.”
Raiders have their next Maxx Crosby in Hemingway?
He might not develop into an All Pro the way Crosby has, but Hemingway’s mentality won’t be what hold him back.
University of South Carolina defensive line coach Travian Robertson talked about Hemingway in June of last year and compared the former Gamecock to Crosby in terms of how they approach the game.
“I see [Tonka] being a pass-rusher in the NFL will be his main attribute,” Robertson told Silver and Black Pride last year. “He is an all-around player, and he can play anywhere on the line, but I just see him being a big-time pass-rusher. He cares so much. He’s all business. He’s all football. The main thing is the main thing for him. He’s never going to stop working.”
“I see Maxx in him,” Robertson continued. “I think it’s going to be a very good thing that Tonka will have Maxx with him.”
Coaches feel Hemingway has a big year coming
Prior to the season, the California Post’s Vinny Bonsignore talked about Hemingway, and said there was a “real expectation” Hemingway was going to take the next step in his career in 2026.
“He needs to take that next step, but there’s a lot of people in the building that believe [Hemingway] will take that next step,” Bonsignore said on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate in July.
“That’s why there’s such intrigue and just quiet confidence in the building that Tonka Hemingway is going to be a pretty darn good player this year for the Raiders. That’s a very real thing I can assure you… Him stepping up obviously would just help the defense immensely. But it’s not even just ‘Man, he needs to step it up.’ There’s a real expectation that he’s going to do exactly that.”
x: @raidersbeat