'Old soul' QB Darnold in focus

Sam Darnold loves listening to birds.

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The Seattle Seahawks quarterback even has an app, ready to identify the call of the northern mockingbird at a moment's notice.It is not a typical hobby in the world of fast cars and diamond-encrusted jewellery beloved by NFL football players — let alone for the star of the team tipped to win the Super Bowl.

"Sam is an old soul," said Jaime Ortiz, Darnold's high school coach.

"He doesn't talk a whole lot. He lets his actions do the talking," Ortiz told AFP.

Recently, those actions have been phenomenal. Darnold and the Seahawks are three wins from a Super Bowl and are the betting market's favourite to go all the way.

Darnold, 28, led Seattle to the joint-best record in the NFL this year, with his second consecutive 14-win season — an amazing back-to-back feat only previously achieved by Tom Brady.

"Sam has this unique ability the game slows down for him," said Ortiz.

"There's usually one play, two plays a game, when you're like, 'how did you do that?' That's been him since he was in high school."