MVP bodyguard: How Ronnie Stanley found his drive at a drive-thru

6:00 AM ETJamison HensleyESPN Staff Writer CloseUniversity of Maryland graduate
Lives in the Baltimore area with his wife and sonBaltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley isn’t more motivated to shove defensive linemen to the ground because all the players selected before him in his draft class landed mega-deals. He isn’t going to protect Lamar Jackson any better on Sunday because he is on the same field as the league’s highest-paid player at his position.For the NFL MVP’s top bodyguard, what has always driven him to be the best can be traced back to a Las Vegas drive-thru.When Stanley was around 12, his mother took himself and his younger brother and sister to a fast food restaurant after one of his basketball games. She ordered for herself, grabbed the bag and drove off.”Losers can’t have food at the drive-thru,” she told them.The children called their father, who was often out of town for business, about what happened and cried about how losers can’t eat. For the record, Juli Stanley did eventually feed her kids but not before serving up a hard lesson in the only way she knew would grab their attention.Give your all, all the time.”People might think I’m crazy,” Juli said recently. “I’m not a good loser.”The Stanley family can’t remember how many times this happened. It wasn’t frequently, but it certainly was more than once.After another game, Juli took Stanley and his friends to the drive-thru. She bought food for everyone except Stanley.This wouldn’t automatically come after defeats. Stanley and his siblings could win but still lose out if their mother didn’t think they gave maximum effort.All three children went on to receive Division I athletic scholarships, although Stanley’s competitiveness continually pushed him to the top.In high school, Stanley was Nevada’s No. 1 overall football prospect. In college, he became the first offensive lineman selected in the 2016 NFL draft. In the NFL, he is widely considered the best left tackle.”I always wanted to be able to prove I could do what she thought I could do,” Stanley said of his mother.The biggest question remaining is when Stanley will become the highest-paid at his position. If Stanley can overcome a hip injury and play Sunday in Houston (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), he will cross paths with Laremy Tunsil, who escalated the value for lef
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