BEREA — Nick Chubb and his siblings could not slouch or mumble.
They were required to stand up straight with their heads held high and speak clearly.
"I'm smart. I'm intelligent. I'm good-looking. I believe in myself."
The Chubb children had to utter those words until their maternal grandmother, Brenda Weaver, became convinced the kids believed what they were saying.
"My grandma always taught us that we could do anything we believed in and setbacks don't matter," Chubb told the Beacon Journal during a recent one-on-one interview at Browns headquarters. "It's about how you keep moving forward, so that's something that I still think about when I'm in a bad space. I go back to when I was young, living with her and we didn't have anything. She'd tell us to keep fighting for everything we want. To this day, I still feel that inside of me."
The routine mandated by Weaver created a foundation of self-confidence and belief Chubb has successfully channeled amid a second remarkable comeback from a shredded left knee . The four-time Pro Bowl running back has positioned himself to return to action Sunday when the Browns (1-5) host the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals (2-4).
Chubb's superhuman strength and elite athletic traits have been lauded in Northeast Ohio since the Browns drafted him in the second round (No. 35 overall) in 2018. Without those attributes and an insane work ethic, returning to the field after blowing out the same knee for the second time would be impossible.
Yet, physical gifts and an obsessive approach to rehabilitating would not alone ensure a completed mission. Chubb also needed an incredible amount of mental toughness and strength. Fortunately, his grandma fostered it.
No matter how Chubb , 28, performs in the short or long term, his ability to resume his NFL career is miraculous.
At the University of Georgia, Chubb rebounded after suffering three torn ligaments, all but the anterior cruciate ligament, against Tennessee on Oct. 10, 2015, during his sophomore season and undergoing surgery. He had two surgeries last year to repair a torn ACL, medial capsule, meniscus and medial collateral ligament after another devastating injury struck on Sept. 18, 2023, against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Everyone who saw Chubb's knee bend in gruesome fashion on "Monday Night Football" knew his career could be done. He realized it, too. When doubt threatened to derail him, he leaned on what his grandma had instilled.
Chubb, his older brother, Zach, and younger sister, Neidra, moved with their mother, LaVelle, into Weaver's house in Cedartown, Georgia, and lived there together during Chubb's first- through third-grade years, he said. LaVelle worked multiple shifts to support her family, and Weaver helped raise the kids. Weaver doesn't like flying, so she hasn't traveled to Cleveland for a Browns game since Chubb's rookie year, but she has seen him play on the road in Atlanta.
Either way, she has remained an important part of Chubb's life, a sentiment he also shared in his essay published Wednesday on The Players' Tribune .
"She was just so influential, inspiring, motivational, supportive," Chubb told the Beacon Journal of his grandma.
Chubb credits Weaver with showing him how to work and establishing discipline. Chubb and his siblings were in charge of weeding and raking to maintain their grandmother's rose garden. It was one of many chores they were assigned to handle inside and outside of her house.
"Everything had to be done to perfection," he said.
If Chubb talked back to Weaver, she made him write at least 100 times in a notebook, "I will not talk back to my grandmother."
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Weaver still has the notebook filled with those sentences. She is known for collecting keepsakes.
A display case in Weaver's house containing the report cards and trophies of family members is what Chubb and his siblings peered into on a nightly basis as they took turns saying the following: "I'm smart. I'm intelligent. I'm good-looking. I believe in myself." Chubb said they could see their reflections in the glass parts of the case.
"My brother and sister, they have kids now, and they make them say that same saying," Chubb said. "So I think all that still carries over until now."
It also translates to how Chubb's mindset made his latest comeback possible.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns star Nick Chubb's grandma plays key role in comeback
