Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman’s toughness was on display as a rising star in North Attleboro
”He’s a perfect guy for Kansas City."
Before a 2014 Patriots-Chiefs game, Andy Reid was asked about Kansas City fullback Anthony Sherman. Reid praised the burly Massachusetts native as a versatile offensive presence who brings “that Cape Cod toughness” on every play.
While you can question Reid’s geography — Sherman was born and raised in North Attleboro, roughly an hour west of the Bourne Bridge, if traffic is moving smoothly on I-495 — there’s no denying his grit has played a role in the rise of the Chiefs.
The special teamer/fullback, a former second-team All-Pro, has become a cult hero in Kansas City. From his body type — the 5-foot-10, 242-pounder is nicknamed “Sausage” — to his mohawk and his gonzo playing style, it’s easy to see why he’s a fan favorite.
”He’s a perfect guy for Kansas City — he just really represents what that fan base is all about; tough, hardworking, and selfless,” said former Kansas City teammate and Massachusetts native Mike DeVito. “He just really gets after it. He embodies what it means to be a Kansas City Chief.”
Now, the 32-year-old Sherman, who has been with the Chiefs since 2013, is a game away from being a back-to-back champion. And while most of New England figures to be rooting for ex-Patriots Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski on Sunday, the town of North Attleboro considers itself part of Chiefs Kingdom.
”It’s not just North Attleboro that will be rooting for the Chiefs Sunday,” said Sherman’s high school coach Kurt Kummer. “[It’s the] whole Hockomock League.”
Kummer said it was fairly evident in the early going that Sherman was going to be a standout athlete. As a high schooler, he was a two-way star for the Rocketeers who rushed for 1,202 yards as a senior while also playing linebacker.
”He came in with a man’s body,” recalled Kummer. “He was fast and had great hands and great feet, and he was powerful. He was fantastic for us — he was the best player on the field every time he stepped on the field.
”Right away — and this is rare — you could see he was a talented kid who was also the hardest worker.”
He played football at UConn, and grew into the role of straight-ahead fullback while with the Huskies, leading the way for future NFL running backs like Jordan Todman and Donald Brown. A fifth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2011 — where he cleared a path for Beanie Wells to rush for 1,047 yards that season — he was dealt to the Chiefs in 2013.
DeVito — who starred at Nauset High in Eastham before playing in the league for nine years, including his last three in Kansas City before tiring after the 2015 season— recalled seeing Sherman for the first time that season with the Chiefs.
”I was there a couple of weeks before he showed up,” recalled DeVito, “and I’m sitting at my locker when he walks into the locker room. He has the big bald eagle tattoo and the shaved head and the goatee. I immediately thought, ‘We’re definitely going to be friends.’
”He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever taken the field with — you watch him on kickoff, or pass protection, he gives it 1,000 percent every time he’s out there,” DeVito said. “As a teammate, you want to mimic that and play hard as well.”
While he’s not one of the marquee elements of the Kansas City offense, Sherman, a former second-team All-Pro, has grown into a veteran’s role with Kansas City, embracing his role as an underrated part of the Chiefs’ attack. A former captain who has become a foundational part of Kansas City’s special teams, only two guys on the Chiefs’ roster are older or have more experience in the league than Sherman.
But DeVito says the Pro Bowler still approaches his job like a rookie.
”Over the course of the last decade, he’s added so much to that team, as far as what type of person he is, but also, the standard he sets,” DeVito said. “He’s still the first guy in the building — minus Andy Reid. He still studies the game, is there for every meeting and every workout. He has no ego.”
”The secret to his success is leadership and hard work, not just talent,” Kummer said. “There are plenty of talented people out there, but they don’t all have that work ethic. His success his rooted in his work ethic and leadership.
”Kummer said Sherman is a fairly regular presence around North Attleboro in the offseason, and he expects Sherman to be back again this spring. And while Sherman might not be a native of Cape Cod, both DeVito and Kummer point to him as a true representative of the Southeastern Massachusetts football fraternity — a guy worth rooting for, especially this Sunday.
”You get a different kind of kid,” Kummer said of the football players who come out of the 508 area code. “You just get that Yankee spirit and toughness. That’s what he has.”
”Andy was right; he does have that Cape Cod toughness,” laughed DeVito. “I think he’s a cousin to us, our Cape Cod ancestors.”
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