Compared to the rural landscape of Chatsworth, Georgia, population 4,871, Los Angeles might as well be another planet for newcomer Ladd McConkey. He’s a Martian with a Southern accent who’s adjusting to a new frontier in this sprawling metropolis.
“Chatsworth is a small town and everyone knows each other,” McConkey said. “There are a lot more people here and I didn’t expect everything to be on par with everything.”
A rural Georgian through and through, all he knows is the Peach State.
McConkey, a second-round draft pick, grew up in Chatsworth, two hours north of Atlanta. He played at North Murray High School before spending four years in Athens at the University of Georgia.
McConkey previously visited Los Angeles as a Georgia Bulldog, when they claimed back-to-back national championships at SoFi Stadium in 2022 against Texas Christian.
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This is very different.
The life of an NFL rookie comes with enormous pressure. High draft picks like McConkey are looking to justify the capital invested in them. Then there are practice squad rookies, who carry the anxiety of being one organizational decision away from being unemployed.
However, the transition off the field is equally challenging.
To help, McConkey is living with his fiancée, Sydney Horne, in Redondo Beach, a much more manageable location than living in the heart of Los Angeles. The couple found a place where McConkey opted for an open floor plan, eschewing the cramped living spaces that are often typical of older California homes.
Having his fiancée by his side has made McConkey’s transition to the NFL much easier, offering him support to help combat the stress of an NFL season.
“It’s amazing,” McConkey said. “After practice, whether it’s a good day or a bad day, I can go home and just talk and hang out with her. She’s my support system.”
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Although McConkey’s family still lives in Georgia, he stays in touch with them through frequent phone calls, which helps ease the challenge of being so far from home. Family visits during preseason games have also helped bridge the gap.
“It’s a shame because all my family lives in Chatsworth,” McConkey said. “Not being able to drive home and see them is definitely different.”
Like McConkey, a mix of country, East Coast and Florida kids are trying to adjust to the faster-paced life in Los Angeles after spending training camp at the team hotel in El Segundo.
For newbies, navigating these changes is made easier with the help of people like Arthur Hightower.
As the Chargers’ senior director of player engagement, Hightower has guided rookies through their NFL lives since 2005, from the team’s days in San Diego to its current home in Los Angeles. His role includes overseeing their financial education, life skills, relocation and overall off-field development.
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“The one thing they all have in common is that they’re rookies and everything is new,” Hightower said. “People just assume that because they make X amount of dollars, they know everything. But they’re still young professionals. This is their first real job.”
Hightower and his staff’s efforts to help players adjust are comprehensive — from deciding whether living with a roommate is a better fit to considering the importance of proximity to facilities or handling unexpected needs, such as finding a barbershop.
“There are stressors no matter what stage of life you’re in,” Hightower said. “The quicker you can acclimate to them, the better you’ll perform.”
Offensive tackle Karsen Barnhart is quickly adjusting to city life after growing up in small towns, though the reality of Los Angeles has turned out to be quite different than he had imagined.
“I had the impression that it was like New York,” Barnhart said of the Big Apple, which he doesn’t like. “The impression was completely wrong because of the way everything is laid out here. There’s a big city every five minutes and it’s not that crowded.”
He sees similarities between El Segundo, where the team’s facilities are located, and Ann Arbor, where he played for the Michigan Wolverines, although El Segundo has the advantage of being by the sea.
Now the ocean is closer for Barnhart, thanks to first-round rookie Joe Alt, who offered him a place to stay in Manhattan Beach.
“After training camp, I found a place and I wasn’t going to use some of the rooms, so I just said, ‘Hey, do you want to room with me?'” Alt said.
The two tackles became close friends at the NFL Combine in February, and their friendship has only grown stronger during training camp, according to Alt. After years of living alone, Alt liked the idea of sharing a space with someone going through a similar experience.
“It’s great to be able to test someone else and see what they think and how they process things,” Alt said.
With both standing over 1.96 metres tall and weighing over 140 kilos, space is at a premium, which could have led to arguments.
The sleeping arrangements were simple, though. As Barnhart said, “He gets the bigger room. There was no argument. He was very kind to let me stay.”
The biggest contrast to his move comes when he thinks about his hometown, Paw Paw, Michigan, a town of just 3,395 residents located off I-94.
“Paw Paw is completely different,” Barnhart said. “For a kid growing up in the country… the Cali lifestyle is a completely different transition. But so far I love it.”
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Barnhart’s experience with the Chargers is not his first visit to the Los Angeles area. Earlier this year, he traveled with Michigan to play Alabama in the Rose Bowl en route to a national championship.
It didn’t take long for the rookies to embrace California culture. Barnhart had already adopted a typical complaint among Angelenos: traffic.
Others settle for the picturesque ocean views from South Bay, enjoying the endless sunshine and indulging in some local delicacies.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ve known a lot of good taco places,” said Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste. “I eat tacos at least three times a week.”
Jean-Baptiste shared his love of pastor and carne asada, a passion he apparently enjoys alone. With a betraying look, his roommate Tre’mon Morris-Brash asked him from a neighboring locker, “You gonna eat tacos, bro?”
“No, he hasn’t contacted me,” Morris-Brash said. “That’s fine.”
Jean-Baptiste, who plays inside linebacker, and Morris-Brash, who plays outside linebacker, find their cohabitation reminiscent of another year in college. They were teammates for four years at Central Florida and lived just a few doors away from each other in the same dorm.
Now in Los Angeles, both are on the Chargers’ practice squad, continuing a shared experience.
“It’s great to go to college with him and then have him here,” Morris-Brash said. “It’s great to see a familiar face every day, and even cooler that we became roommates. It’s definitely sweet.”
The two share a luxury apartment just minutes from the team’s facilities and kept things civil as they decided who would get the bigger bedroom, settling it with a game of rock, paper, scissors. Jean-Baptiste emerged victorious.
Despite their fondness for the resort, they found the cost a bit of a shock.
“Ugh, one thing I can say is that rent in California is very different than where I come from,” said Jean-Baptiste, who grew up in Florida City, Florida (population 13,000). “Very expensive.”
The two moved in just days before the Chargers’ season opener against the Raiders. While they were game planning for Las Vegas on the field, off the field they focused on setting up their Wi-Fi, something they did themselves.
“We’ve really just been trying to get our house ready first,” Morris-Brash said.
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This isn’t the first time Morris-Brash or Jean-Baptiste have made this move. Morris-Brash left his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, to play at UCF in Orlando. Jean-Baptiste moved to Oxford, Mississippi, for his senior year at Ole Miss as a graduate transfer student.
Being away from family can be a challenge, but Jean-Baptiste credits their support (and the phone) for making his transition easier. He often talks to his father, who keeps him informed about the weather in Dade County.
“I spoke to my father yesterday,” Jean-Baptiste said. “He simply told me that one day it rains, another day it is hellishly hot. One day it rains, another day it is hellishly hot.”
“My family supports me,” Jean-Baptiste said, “and being here allows me to focus on my dream.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.