Each week throughout camp, Raiders.com will be checking in with rookie running back Dylan Laube for a first person viewpoint of his first NFL training camp (as told to Levi Edwards).
Coming to the Raiders, I had the same mentality of when I came into college at New Hampshire. Your freshman year, you've just got to work with your head down and go.
I didn't want to be that guy who comes in all cocky. You don't want to be that loud guy. I didn't want to come in as some FCS guy picked in the sixth round and act like I'm all that because at the end of the day, a sixth-round guy doesn't have an automatic spot on the roster.
It's been really cool, especially coming from the FCS level where there weren't the best facilities and resources sometimes. But in Vegas, it's been the best of the best from the facilities, to the staff, to the coaches and the players. When I stepped into the facility for the first time, I realized that if I was about to play against some of the best of the best, I'd have to work every single day.
I've been very close with my rookie class so far from Brock Bowers to every one of undrafted guys. It's been a super cool experience. We've been together at the facility from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day and have gotten real close through all of our player engagement meetings.
Funny story – at one of our player engagement meetings, we were doing life simulations in groups where we had to pick out a house, clothes and all type of things within our budget. During the meeting, our group had to go up and dance and of course, my group picked me to dance.
They put on this salsa song and I just went up there and started doing my thing. Then Trey Taylor pulled his phone out and started recording me and then he sent it to Raiders staff and other players. The video got back to my boys back home and they were sending it to me. Very stupid, funny thing, but it just shows how close we are and how comfortable we are with each other.
The first day of training camp was definitely intense.
Based off of OTAs and minicamp, I was expecting for things to be chaotic. But OTAs and minicamp actually kind of set me up for this, being able to learn the system and the culture. You get a base level of every single thing possible, and once you get to camp, it's just full go. They've been preaching that here for awhile so camp has been exactly what I would've expected.
During our break before camp, I studied the playbook and studied my assignments and made sure I was clear on every single thing because I knew on first day there wasn't going to be a slow start. It was going to be go, go, go. And that first day was a lot of fun.
Since I've been here, even coming from a smaller school, I haven't felt like I don't belong. I feel like I fit right in. I'm comfortable with the plays, I'm comfortable with the system. I love the group here and we come to compete every single day. It's a great atmosphere and it's truly a place I can now call my home.
Pads are about to come on, so now we're about to see who the true players are. I mean yeah, you can run around in shells and helmets and make plays, but when the pads come on, that's when the true player comes out. You've got to strap it up and get ready to go.
I just want you guys to know it's going to be fun. Not just for me, but for the whole team.
I want to give a shoutout to Vegas for taking small town kid from New York in the sixth round and I hope you won't regret it.
View the best photos from practice as the Las Vegas Raiders head into their second week of 2024 Training Camp.