New Orleans Saints

Rookie Stephone Anthony already receiving strong reviews

Published Jun. 29, 2015 9:19 p.m. ET

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The New Orleans Saints may have held a few padless practices, but that hasn't stopped people from sending positive vibes out about rookie middle linebacker Stephone Anthony. Obviously, we can't call him a star just yet, but according to Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate, Anthony has been impressive thus far.

The first to sound off on Anthony was defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who's definitely a fan.

“I think the game, it’s not very fast for him,” defensive coordinator Rob Ryan told The Advocate. “He’s been really well-coached in college, he understands football, he loves football, so he’s learning at a very quick rate, and that’s awesome. That you can see with no pads on.”

Even the player who's sitting in front of him on the depth chart at this point, David Hawthorne, had great things to say about the rookie.

“He’s a good kid with a good head on his shoulders,” Hawthorne said. “He’s picking up things well. He’s athletic, he’s big, he’s smart and he’ll be a good player in this league. He has a good feel for football, and that’s probably why we took him when we took him.”

It's pretty safe to say that Anthony won't be sitting on the sidelines for too long, especially if he's picked up the defense already.

(h/t The Advocate)

Photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports