More from Xavier Rhodes on trash talking, stats

In case you missed it, here's the Sunday story on Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes. There were a few interesting nuggets about the up-and-upcoming cornerback that didn't make the story, including his reluctance to look at stats and trash talk, that'll hold you over until the 3:25 p.m. kickoff against the Lions at Ford Field.

We'll start with why Rhodes hates to look at stats. The only time he typically finds out about his season stats through other people. The media, Vikings public relations and his teammates are the main culprits that mention those numbers to Rhodes, but he won't seek them out.

That's due to his redshirt sophomore season at Florida State, when Rhodes knew he was good enough to play cornerback in the NFL and wanted to declare at the end of the year. He won a handful of awards as a redshirt freshman — ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and Freshman All-American to name a few — that Rhodes felt distracted him from his main goal.

"I was always looking to the papers to see what they were saying about me next," Rhodes said. "Where am I at at this point? Am I the No. 1 corner? I was more concerned about myself and where I was ranked instead of more about getting better. That year came, and it showed. I didn't get any better."

Rhodes' pass breakups dropped from 12 to four as a redshirt sophomore, which lacked any postseason honors.

"I was still average, I was overweight," Rhodes said. "I was just more focused on leaving instead of just living the moment. I just learned from that year, and I'm never doing that again. I'm not going to allow myself to get caught up in that moment, get caught up in the hype. I've got to put in the work to keep it going. I'll let all my talent and my work do all the talking and show for itself."

Rhodes also isn't interested in trash talking or doing any wild antics on the field. He did all that as a redshirt freshman and learned it was a waste of energy.

"I was tired and exhausted, then the very next play he threw it deep and almost caught it," Rhodes said. "I said I'm never, ever celebrating again.

"I'm just going to give you one handshake, or whatever. None of that, 'Oh let's jump!' And that spinning around, running around the field. Nah, you ain't going to get me. I'm going right to that bench to sit down, catch my breath and get ready for the next."

The same tiring effect occurred when Rhodes tried to trash talk against Clemson that same year to wide receivers Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins, now playing for the Bills and Texans.

"I was just talking trash the whole game, and I was like, 'Man, I'm exhausted right now talking all this trash. I'll keep all my energy.' I stay to myself, think about my job and what I need to do.