Chris Vannini, Coachingsearch.com (http://coachingsearch.com/article?a=Herm-Edwards-We-are-a-collection-of-our-choices-Dont-allow-them-to-choose-you)

By all accounts, the video of Laremy Tunsil smoking marijuana that came out before the draft cost him millions of dollars by slipping in the first round, and it’s a lesson Herm Edwards would share with any young player.

Edwards has spoken at the NFL Rookie Symposium in the past, and he always talks about surrounding yourself with the right people. It’s unknown who hacked Tunsil’s account and posted the video and other social media posts, but the video was out there, and Edwards has the same message.

“I would be naïve to not think some of the players in college football and NFL smoke marijuana. That’s not the deal for me. It’s the next situation,” Edwards said on Mike & Mike. “All of a sudden, this guy was in a room with his friends. If they’re his friends, why would you even take a picture of you doing that? When you do that, eventually, it’s going to come out. It just does. What we do in the dark comes to the light.

“Why would you put yourself in that situation? I get the marijuana. If that’s what you want to do, you get tested in this league and miss games. Who are the people in your huddle? Now you have money. How many people are coming to South Beach with you? That’s my concern.”

When players get their payday, people want to be around them. Tunsil already has issues with his stepfather. It’s a new world for players when they reach the pros, and Edwards emphasizes that they need to be surrounded by the right people.

“We’re all a collection of our choices. I always tell players, you choose your friends. Don’t allow them to choose you,” Edwards said. “If the people in the circle that night, if they’re truly your friends, you tell them, ‘We’re not taking pictures of this.’ They did. Some way, someone got it. You need to check out who you’re hanging with. I’m not saying he should smoke marijuana. But if you go into a bar with your buddies, have a couple drinks, they tell you to go, ‘You’re not driving, we’ll get you out of here.’”