Josh Norman became a public figure out of nowhere last season. Despite being overlooked by Division I schools and playing in the FCS in college, Norman made the Pro Bowl and quickly became widely regarded as the best corner in football. Oh, and did you hear he had a mix-up with the best young receiver in football, Odell Beckham Jr.?
Even after signing a five-year, $75 million deal with the Washington Redskins, the attention Norman has received is still new to him. He recently took another step up on the Athlete Levels of Fame when Jay Z dropped his name on “I Got The Keys,” the No. 1 track on DJ Khaled’s fire new album, Major Key.
“One on one with the corner with no safety help/I perform like Josh Norman, I ain’t normal, nigga,” Jay Z rapped, comparing his former drug-dealing days to Norman’s confident playing style on the field.
A TMZ reporter asked Norman today how he felt about the shout-out from the iconic rapper, and the 28-year-old corner said he was “humbled.”
“I’m humbled by everything that I have gotten thus far,” Norman said. “I’ve been blessed to meet great people, and that’s one of the people that I’ve met, and big ups and respect.”
Norman was in the news earlier this week because he absolutely went off in an ESPN The Mag cover story interview. As you might expect, Norman ripped Beckham, but he also gave a piece of his mind to the Panthers (his former team) and unpopular NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. This dude called Goodell “a dog in a suit.”
Norman also ripped Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, whom he shut down in the Super Bowl, and Thomas actually fired back.
Trash-talk is half the fun of football (Ochocinco misses it). We hope Norman keeps talking. If anything, it will definitely get him more shout-outs from prominent rappers.
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