Between the lines, Vega Ioane is the punishing blocker the Ravens coveted.
Outside the lines, Baltimore's first-round pick showed he has a heart of gold.
Following Penn State's loss to Ohio State last season, the disappointed Ioane saw an equipment manager straining to push a heavy equipment cart up a tunnel while being heckled by Ohio State fans.
Ioane swung his leg high and hopped over a wall to the other side so he could help push the cart.
"Simple as one of my teammates, just a different version," Ioane told reporters after the clip went viral. "A lot of people who are outside the building don't know that we don't run without them guys like that. We can't practice without them. We can't go to games without them. Just as simple as helping out our teammate."
General Manager Eric DeCosta had seen the clip during the pre-draft process, and said such social media moments do matter in "some little, small way."
"That was really cool," DeCosta said. "I think it speaks to his humility and just who he is as a person, how his parents raised him, for sure."
The youngest of nine children, Ioane had to be tough growing up in Graham, Wash. He said his parents were "a little emotional" seeing their son go viral for such a heartwarming moment.
It's in stark contrast to the player his parents, fans, and, especially, opponents see on the field. Ioane relishes punishing defensive linemen and said he's in the perfect place in the rough and tumble AFC North.
"For me, it's a switch that's taken me a while to perfect," Ioane said Thursday night after the Ravens made him the 14th-overall pick and the earliest guard they have ever selected.
"When I'm off the field, I can turn it off and be chill with the guys, be calm with the guys, and just kick it. But when I'm on the field, nobody is going to stand in front of me and survive."
