Dan Campbell's Message to Lions' Rookies: 'Grow Up'

Playing in the National Football League is a completely different endeavor for college draft prospects. 

Outside of the many responsibilities that a football player is required to accomplish on the field, there are now expectations for how a professional athlete is expected to behave off the field. 

Head coach Dan Campbell shared with reporters at rookie minicamp what was an important off the field lesson the rookies were learning from the coaching staff. 

“For any rookie, it’s the fact that you’re not in college anymore," Campbell said. "Some of these things that you were posting on Twitter or your social media or whatever, or what you’re doing in the locker room and you take a photo. I told them of something that happened where somebody took a photo one time and it’s of me, but here’s my buddy’s locker right here and he’s got something in that locker that probably he doesn’t want America to see. And now he gets put on display."

Campbell also made it a point to emphasize that nobody on the coaching staff was going to coddle a young player. 

Aside from achieving goals on the field, those who participated in rookie minicamp have now been exposed to what the Lions want to be about, both on and off the field. 

"Our big message to them is, ‘Grow up.’ You’re an adult now, and we’re going to treat you like an adult. You’re about to go into a locker room with a bunch of men, and a lot of these men have kids, they have wives, and they’re serious about their business. Nobody’s going to hold your hand here. We’re not," Campbell said. "The schedule’s going to be posted. Look at the schedule. Handle your business. The faster they can learn that, and they can grow up and fend for themselves and handle their own business, the better off they’ll be and the faster they’ll acclimate to what we’re about.”