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Kiko Alonso Is A Goddamn Maniac And Will Soon Be A Philadelphia Legend

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Jermel Ladd first noticed the transformation just before the start of their senior year of high school.

He and his best friend, Kiko Alonso, decided to strap on the pads and hit the field for a little one-on-one work prior to the start of fall camp. Alonso was the ball carrier, Ladd the defender, and when they popped, Ladd was overtaken by a force — and a ferociousness — that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“I did not know that existed in him,” he said.

The rest of his Los Gatos teammates would soon make the painful discovery themselves.

“It was shocking because I had never seen it before. It was just a whole new level. I remember we were just out there in shorts and a shirt (during practice), no pads, no nothing, and he was just out there tackling people,” said Ladd. “He is reckless in that sense. He would literally just take someone out that wasn’t really expecting it – they were expecting it, but they weren’t expecting him to finish the play. I don’t know where that comes from, honestly. It was new to me, but I know he carried that through Oregon.”

There are a host of Ducks that can attest to that. Josh Huff was a year behind Alonso. He remembers his first football encounter with the middle linebacker quite well.

“Freshman year of college,” Huff recalls. “He was just like, ‘Don’t come across the middle. I’m going to have your head.’ …I’m just glad he’s on our side of the ball this year when we play the Bills and not on the other side.”

Kenjon Barner was asked if he had any similar run-ins with Alonso in Eugene. Barner said forget that — we only had to go back in time an hour or so for such an anecdote.

“We can just go today. He walked by me and said, ‘I hope you’re ready. I’m going to hit you today.’ We didn’t even have pads on,” the running back said with a laugh. “That’s just the kind of guy Kiko is. He’s always trying to get in your head, always trying to get the upper hand mentally.

“I tell the guys all the time: ‘Kiko’s not all the way there.’ When it comes to hitting, man, he doesn’t care. He’s going to try and smash you. You guys will see that once we get pads on, get to see this guy play up close and personal. The way he hits guys makes you think twice.”

… The rest of the GREAT read on Kiko can be found here at Philly Mag

Smashing people without pads and/or regard for life while getting in people’s heads. Love it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if healthy, this man will be the white Brian Dawkins (at LB). The full article is a MUST read for any Eagles, nay, football fan and it goes into the psyche of this madman on the gridiron. What’s even better, Kiko Alonso seems like a character guy who just wants to not only win, but conquer. There seems to be a lot of guys on the team with that kind of mantra. Features like this have been done so far on Kelce, Mufasa, Cox, The Nigerian Nitrus, and a couple other Eagles. The one thing they all have in common, other than being the most likable athletes on the planet, is they are all shooting after the same goal. Love or hate Chip Kelly, but it’s clear he’s putting together his team in the image he wants. Whether “Culture” wins or not it remains to be seen, but dammit, I absolutely love the guys he’s bringing into South Philly.

Sunday it starts. Can’t fucking wait.