Get nasty, son.
Get belligerent in the trenches, where nice guys get buckled, and don’t stop until you ransack the backfield.
That was the general mandate issued to Eddie Vanderdoes by Placer High School football coaches in 2010. He was 15 then, more broad grins, piecing blue eyes and unrefined body mass than the terror he would become.
“Coach Dennis Murphy was the guy,” said Vanderdoes, the Raiders’ rookie defensive tackle, after Wednesday’s practice in Napa, his eyes widening. “He preached being violent and mean and ruthless. He made sure I knew that.”
Message received, absorbed, delivered.