As the sun illuminates Winter Park’s grass fields during a routine practice, teammates and coaches occasionally need Xavier Rhodes to return to Earth — you know, where the Vikings star cornerback plays and is now paid like one of the NFL’s best.
The only problem is he’s visiting “Planet Xavier,” the fictional addition to our solar system that exists whenever Rhodes drifts into one of his daydreams.
“It’s his other world he lives in,” safety Harrison Smith said. “I’ve never been there.”
Usually a thud on the shoulder pads brings him back.
“I cannot hear them literally calling my name,” Rhodes said.