Rams linebacker Nate Landman wears his pride on

The lion’s amber gaze fixes ahead on Nate Landman’s left bicep, its mane fanning across the curve of his arm. Above Landman’s wrist, a zebra bends to graze, while a giraffe behind steps through a stand of wind-bent acacia trees.

Together, they kind a tattooed sleeve of Zimbabwe — an inked panorama of home carried by the Rams’ latest defensive signal-caller.

“There’s not many Zimbabwe migrants in the United States,” Landman mentioned, “so to represent my country and have this platform to do it is huge.”

At age 4, Landman’s household of six traded the southern tip of Africa for Northern California, chasing wider enjoying fields and instructional alternatives for their youngsters. Twenty-two years later, the pink soil and wild coastlines of his first home still journey with him — in the way in which he stalks, strikes and erupts.

So when tight finish Davis Allen cut through a seam and caught a cross during Saturday’s coaching camp session, Landman tracked him with the persistence of a predator. He measured each step, sprang ahead and then uncoiled, thumping the ball out of Allen’s grip to ship it skidding to the turf.

After witnessing a number of of those jarring photographs, security Quentin Lake coined the nickname “Peanut Punch Landman,” a nod to Landman’s skill to drive fumbles.

“He has just a knack for the ball,” Lake mentioned.

The Atlanta Falcons have been the first to detect that hunch, scooping Landman out of Colorado as an undrafted rookie. In each of the final two seasons, he compelled three fumbles.

That intuition — and the trust he’s earned — fast-tracked Landman’s position with the Rams. Signed as a free agent in March, Landman wasted little time successful over Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, who caught a inexperienced dot on Landman’s helmet, designating him as a commander of the protection.

“The way that he understands the game, he’s able to talk to everybody on the defense,” Rams inside linebackers coach Greg Williams mentioned. “It was almost a no-brainer when coach Shula came to me and said, ‘I think Nate should have the green dot.’”

And for the Rams, that management and knack for creating turnovers got here at a cut price. In a protection that doesn’t spend huge at linebacker, Landman — who signed a one-year, $1.1-million contract — arrived as a low-cost addition with high potential return.

“He’s a great communicator. He’s got great command. He’s got the ability to elevate people,” coach Sean McVay mentioned, including, “I just like the way that this guy’s got a great vibe.”

Before Landman turned an on-field common for the Rams, he was in trainer mode, offering teammates a primer that had nothing to do with playbooks.

During a workforce assembly, Landman unfurled a map of Africa, tracing its define with his finger before shading the small patch of land he calls home — wedged proper above South Africa — to give his locker room a visible pin on where his story started.

“A lot of guys don’t know that Africa, the continent, is full of just individual countries,” Landman mentioned. “They think it’s states and stuff. So it’s cool to be able to share that with them — not everybody believes when I say I’m from Africa.”

Amid that crash course, one query saved resurfacing.

Are there lions and deer roaming around?

“A lot of people are fascinated,” Landman mentioned. “It’s such a rare thing, that’s why I’m so proud of it.”

Though it’s been a few years since Landman final stood on Zimbabwean soil, his household ties still tether him there. And as soccer despatched him crisscrossing the United States, his homeland’s hues and emblems have come along for the journey.

The tattoo sleeve climbs into his chest, framing a map of Africa with Zimbabwe shaded deep. He still eats sadza nanyama, the maize-and-meat staple that fed his childhood. And in his mother and father’ home, mild falls on a gallery of African vignettes and keepsakes.

His helmet bears the identical allegiance, Zimbabwe’s flag tagged proudly on the back.

“I love wearing that Zimbabwe flag on the back of my helmet,” Landman mentioned, “and I’ll do that as long as I’m in the NFL.”