Will Hernandez brings 'nasty' to Cardinals' offensive line in reunion with college coach

Aug 8, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, U.S.;  Arizona Cardinals offensive guard Will Hernandez (76) lines up during training camp at State Farm Stadium.
Aug 8, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, U.S.; Arizona Cardinals offensive guard Will Hernandez (76) lines up during training camp at State Farm Stadium.
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From the looks of things on social media, if not on and off the field at Cardinals training camp, Will Hernandez is fitting in quite well with his new offensive line teammates.

There's a video of him with the other starters — center Rodney Hudson at the wheel, right tackle Kelvin Beachum running the camera phone, center-guard Sean Harlow, left tackle D.J. Humphries and left guard Justin Pugh — packed into a large SUV ordering drinks at a drive-thru. It's a bonding moment among the big guys.

Hernandez is no NFL newbie. But he is new enough to the Cardinals to have gotten a long look in training camp and been the only projected Week 1 starter (right guard) to start the preseason opener.

"It's all their call," Hernandez said when asked about not taking or getting days off. "I'm new here."

Hernandez met Beachum in 2019 and Hudson at the Super Bowl in 2020. He and Pugh are both former New York Giants, Hernandez taking over at left guard when Pugh left to sign with the Arizona in 2018.

When the Cardinals got the ball for the first time, and throughout the entire first half in Cincinnati Friday night, there was Hernandez on the field for every series.

Jonathan Ward ran behind Hernandez for one of his touchdowns. Ward got additional yardage on a chunk-play screen pass thanks to a downfield blockfrom Hernandez. On TV anyway, it looked like a successful Cardinals debut for Hernandez, who has brought an edge to the offensive line in his fifth NFL season, the first four with the Giants.

"If anything, I'm the one that just wants to be in there as much as I can. And yeah, I mean, after playing for so long, these guys have developed that chemistry already," Hernandez said. "These guys know each other. So I think it's more valuable that sometimes they just save their bodies instead of going out there and just wearing and tearing on it."

Arizona Cardinals offensive guard Will Hernandez (76) blocks defensive end J.J. Watt (99) during training camp at State Farm Stadium.
Arizona Cardinals offensive guard Will Hernandez (76) blocks defensive end J.J. Watt (99) during training camp at State Farm Stadium.

Hernandez didn't take long to make an impression at training camp. He's shown his playing style to be scrappy and willing to take on any defensive lineman who goes after him. It's a welcome attitude to the Cardinals, who could always use that kind of physicality up front protecting Kyler Murray and opening holes for their running backs.

"I love having Will here," Pugh said. "And he was the scrapper there. It must be like if you played left guard in New York, you just have to fight. Because now I don't have to fight. Will's taken over that role, man. He's the enforcer out there. It's been awesome. He's a great dude, great personality, great in the locker room. I couldn't say enough good things about Will, I'm real happy he's here."

So is Cardinals offensive line coach Sean Kugler, who recruited Hernandez to Texas-El Paso, where Kugler was the Miners' head coach from 2013 to 2017.

Kugler has known Hernandez since he recruited him out of Las Vegas when Hernandez was 17 years old. Asked if Hernandez has a little nasty side to him, Kugler had a quick answer.

"He's got a lot of nasty," the longtime coach said.

"He tries to run through people. The (offensive line) room loves him. He's got a great demeanor. They've already adopted him," Kugler added. "And he's a loyal kid. He's a hard working kid. Nobody's going to outwork him, and he brings a physical play demeanor to that position."

Hernandez said Kugler taught him how to play the game at a high level and is the reason he is in the NFL. It wasn't hard to pick up Kugler's concepts and drills in practice once the two got on the field together again.

"It's pretty cool. It's something that doesn't really happen, you know, so in a way, it brings us even closer and my mentality is I don't want to let him down. I want to play as hard as I've played, have the attention to detail and be as focused as I ever have," Hernandez said.

Hernandez acknowledged that keeping in touch with Kugler helped pave the way to get him to sign with Arizona.

In the desert Southwest, Hernandez feels right at home. The scorching sun in summer workouts in Arizona brought back what it felt like to be closer to where he grew up.

"The type of weather in the summer where if you get into your car, you've got to leave the car door open for like five seconds first. You've got to watch out for that seat belt. Make sure you buckle up or it's going to burn you," Hernandez said. "Yeah, a lot of the those memories came right back. I haven't spent a summer out here since high school. So yeah, it was definitely great coming back to a place where I feel more at home. And I love it out here."

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Will Hernandez brings 'nasty' style to Arizona Cardinals' offensive line