Nicknames are for veterans. T.J. Ward, for example, can call himself “Boss” because he earned it over six seasons. Rookies, though, do not get nicknames. They get numbers. At best they hear “hey rook.”
Broncos fullback Andy Janovich is a rarity. One week into his first NFL training camp, he already has a nickname. He is “Hammerhead.”
“There are plays when I knock the crap out of a linebacker or something and everybody seems excited,” Janovich said. “But that’s just the role of the fullback. I feel like they’re liking what I’m doing.”
The glory days of the smashmouth fullback in the NFL are distant.