Ravens CB Setting High Standard for Younger Players

The Baltimore Ravens are now firmly in the thick of training camp, which — between practices almost every day and scorching temperatures — is one of the most grueling times of the NFL schedule.

Throughout this time, it's never a bad idea to find a way to have some fun, and Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey is doing just that.

This year, Humphrey has brought back the Ravens' "Breakfast Club" tradition, where players come in around 6 a.m. to get an early start on workouts. It's not only a great way to greet the day bright and early, but it greatly helps the team bond.

"We're already starting our day at 7 a.m., but I guess [for] a couple guys, we want to get going as soon as possible," Humphrey told reporters Thursday. "I'm an early-morning guy anyway, so it worked. It kind of has come back from a couple years ago when I was younger, kind of that 'Breakfast Club' lift, so it's been good. If you don't come in there at 6 a.m. on the dot or 6:01 a.m., you've got to go back. You've got to wait for the 7 a.m. group, so you'd better get up early because we're looking at the clock waiting on it to be 6, and we had to send somebody back. But I love the 'Breakfast Club' lift."

Head coach John Harbaugh fully supports Humphrey, noting how he's setting a high standard for his younger teammates.

"It's awesome," Harbaugh told reporters Friday. "That place is packed at 6 a.m. It starts really filling up. At 7 a.m., it's packed. That's our schedule right now. But those guys, they're in there. And I get it. If you get in there even earlier, and you get a little time. You buy yourself an hour or so to get some breakfast and gather yourself, maybe recover from the lift, but also the bonding part of it."

"Marlon is in a great place. I mean he's setting a really high standard. I would say that our most decorated players are setting the highest standard for the team right now. When your best players and your most decorated players are your hardest workers, that's a really good thing. And you see that with our team and everybody else. That's how you lead. And Marlon, along with all those other guys – you know who they are – is at the forefront of that."

Humphrey, 29, is coming off an All-Pro season after moving to the slot. Now, he's looking to follow up that performance while leading what is, on average, a pretty young secondary, and he's off to a great start.