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“Getting the crap knocked out of you” is usually used as a figure of speech, but according to Steve Smith Sr., one of his former teammates on the Panthers literally had that happen to him after ending up on the receiving end of a brutal hit during a game.
NFL players know there’s a chance they’re going to befall an unfortunate fate whenever they step onto the field. That’s especially true for guys on the offensive side of the ball who run the risk of succumbing to a wide variety of injuries when they’re on the receiving end of a tackle.
Now, I’d argue that pooping your pants after getting jacked up is probably preferable to tearing your ACL, breaking a bone, or falling victim to concussion, but you’re probably going to have an easier time living down those injuries compared to a setback that’s a bit easier to back down from.
That brings us to Jeff King, who currently serves as the co-director of player personnel for the Chicago Bears but who spent four years playing as a tight end for the Carolina Panthers in the latter half of the 2010s alongside retired wide receiver Steve Smith Sr.
Smith recently got the chance to sit down with ex-Michigan WR Roman Wilson to dissect his skill set ahead of the NFL Draft during a conversation where he broke down some of his game film from college—which included a play from a showdown with Maryland where the former Wolverine got blown up after catching a pass up the middle.
Smith used that learning moment as a chance to ask Wilson “Have you ever got hit that hard and you kind of, like, maybe tooted?” and subsequently decided to blow up King’s spot, saying:
“I played with a guy, Jeff King, against the New Orleans Saints. He got hit running a seam route *makes fart noise*…
There was like a minute left into the half and we were driving to kick a field goal. The defense got a turnover and we had to go back on the field. He played the [rest of] the first half in poopy pants.
When he got hit everybody said, ‘King, you alright?’ and he said, ‘Man, I s— all over myself.'”
That right there is the mark of a true warrior.