Every year, HBO gets a lot of people hyped up about a few unknown players on Hard Knocks. They’re so fun and charismatic, and the coaches praise them! The coaches seem to really like them! It’s all TV.
Hard truth: HBO can find ways to present almost every player on the roster in this way. When Dirk Koetter and Jason Licht were about to cut Evan Panfil, they talked extensively about how much they liked him. They still cut him. Coaches like many players, but ‘like’ is not enough to make a roster.
All of this to make a point about Riley Bullough, who’s being hyped up based on one episode of Hard Knocks where Dirk Koetter praised his leadership.