According to Statista, nearly 73 percent of Americans drink coffee every day.
DE Za'Darius Smith, however, is not among the roughly 240 million starting their day with a cup of joe.
"I'm not a coffee person, but I'm a morning person," Smith said ahead of the Browns first training camp practice back at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. "A lot of people use coffee in the morning to get going, but I'm one of those guys who just wakes up with no alarm clock, ready to go."
Smith has been bringing the energy to training camp so far, claiming that his upbeat personality is a major component of his leadership style as he enters his 10th season as a pro and his second with the Browns.
"Z is a great teammate. Awesome around the building, incredible energy, juice, practices hard. Really fits in with us culturally, we like everything about him," head coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice.
Despite being one of the more experienced players on the roster, Smith noted that he still feels that he has a lot to learn. The Montgomery, Ala. native initially had his sights set on the NBA and didn't start playing football until his senior year of high school.
"A lot of guys going into year 10, they want to take vet days, they don't want to practice," Smith said. "I'm a guy that's going to continue to come to work each and every day and try to get better myself. I'm still young in this game, I started playing football my senior year of high school. So, I feel like I'm still young and I still got a lot of growing to do."
The three-time Pro Bowler has high aspirations for the 2024 season, mentioning that he personally would like to get double-digit sacks after recording 5.5 last season. Smith had 10 sacks the year prior with Minnesota and had back-to-back seasons in Green Bay with 12.5 or more sacks. His goal for the team, however, is much larger than individual statistics.
"We've got unfinished work to do here," Smith said. "I get a chance for myself to basically get comfortable in this defense and just the team, period, as whole, we can really go to the Super Bowl if we really work hard and put our minds to it this year."
The Browns are coming off a 2023 season in which they were among the league's best on defense, allowing just over 270 yards per game (first in the NFL), tallying 49 sacks (sixth in the NFL), 18 interceptions (third in the NFL) and a 74.7 passer rating allowed (second in the NFL).
With reigning Defensive Player of the Year DE Myles Garrett and a promising young core, Smith is optimistic on the Browns' ability to build off last season's success.
One player whose potential excites Smith is rookie DT Mike Hall Jr., who the Browns took in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Hall, a Cleveland native and an Ohio State standout, impressed Smith during the first week of training camp, earning a notable comparison Sunday morning.
"He's different, man. He reminds me of Aaron Donald a little bit," Smith said, adding that he hoped Hall didn't let that comparison get to his head. "Younger guy who wants to learn and asks a lot of questions. When we were doing one-on-ones, he was winning each and every rep. So, to have a young guy like that who just wants to continue to get better and better each and every day is big for our D-line."
Smith also gave shoutouts to fellow defensive ends Alex Wright, who had five sacks last season, Ogbo Okoronkwo who had 4.5 sacks as well as DT Quinton Jefferson who had six sacks.
With at both the defensive tackle and defensive end positions, Smith said defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's aggressive scheme will continue to be effective in enabling his players to get after the quarterback.
"Jim Schwartz is one of the guys who wants to cut us loose and just go," Smith said. "[Scwartz] has done a great job with moving us around and putting us in a position to win, so with his play calling, we're going to try and be one of the best this year."
A player who makes both Schwartz and Smith's lives easier on the gridiron is Garrett, who was recently ranked fifth in the NFL Top 100. Smith said that the 6-foot-4, 270-pound pass rusher – who he joked was "born in a lab" – was stepping up as a vocal leader during the offseason.
"I would say that he's a guy who's doing more leadership now. I'm seeing him talk more in meetings and helping the younger guys and staying after practice and helping those guys as well," Smith said.
As Smith geared up for the team's first practice in front of fans, he made it abundantly clear he believes the sky is the limit for the Browns roster.
"The people upstairs know what they're doing," Smith said. "They put together a great front and a great D-line to where, like I said, we got to finish what we started from last year and hopefully we can do that with this football team."
