Excellent ESPN write up on the best defensive player in college football

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"He's a laid-back dude," said defensive end Daeshon Hall, one of Garrett's closest friends on the team. "Doesn't really do anything except play basketball, listen to old-school music and read books. Sometimes we'll be watching movies and he'll go out in the lobby and read a book. He's a different guy."

Say hello to Myles Garrett, All-SEC defensive end, big-time NFL prospect and the oldest soul in college football.

"He's an old soul in a freak body," Hall joked.

Music

As his playlist indicates, Garrett favors music created before he was born.

"He never liked regular music," said his mother, Audrey Garrett. "He never liked rap. If Sean [Williams, Myles' older brother] turned on some rap, Myles closed his door. ... It was like noise to him. But if you turned on some old-school music, he would sit there bopping his little head."

Myles' favorite artist: Marvin Gaye. His favorite female artist: Anita Baker.

"I grew up with Ray Charles playing in the car all the time or playing in the house," Myles said. "I grew up with Marvin Gaye and sometimes Dean Martin and Frankie. So I turned to everybody else who was in the era. I went to Elvis, Teddy Pendergrass. I kept expanding and it just went from there."

Audrey said they played everything from Ella Fitzgerald to The Gap Band during Myles' childhood. And his interest spans genres. He recently made a request -- which was fulfilled -- for "No One Like You" by The Scorpions to be played at a recent practice.

"He has some variety," Hall said. "He doesn't listen to just all old school. He listens to some hip-hop and rock 'n' roll."

Love songs are Myles' staple, though.

"He loves love songs," Audrey said. "The baby is a romantic at heart."

Social media

These days, everyone seemingly is on social media. Players, coaches, recruits, athletic directors.

Everyone except Myles Garrett.

He once had Twitter and Instagram accounts. Last offseason, when he was sitting at home in Arlington, Texas, he deleted them both. "It's just unnecessary," he told his parents. "There's too much foolishness on there."

He hasn't missed it and hasn't returned. No Snapchat. No Periscope. Nothing.

"I mean just to see how much time is consumed looking down at your phone when you could be reading, becoming better at your own language or learning a new language," Garrett said. "You could be doing so many productive things. You could becoming a better student-athlete. While they're scrolling down and looking through and trying to find something funny or something else, I'm just trying to be the best I can and maximize my potential."

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