To show that I can handle all the stuff they throw at me. It ain’t easy now! Show that I’m worthy of stepping up and being in a position to play at this level.
Mental toughness and hard work.
I’d say just battling injuries. The league we play in – it ain’t easy, you know. We play some good people. So it would be just that – battling injuries. But if that’s all you got, then you ain’t got bad problems!
Timmy Jernigan on our team. And honestly, I didn’t really struggle much with any other team. But Jernigan is the guy.
Timmy is amazing. He’s super talented, he’s strong. When he gets to 530 lbs. on the bench, they stop him and tell him that he doesn’t need to be benching any more. He can squat a house! He’s just an amazing athlete. He has so much power in his hips. He plays so low to the ground. Me being a simple white guy, it ain’t easy to get down there! That’s the toughest guy I’ve ever played against.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be fair for me to say, because I know our guys in and out, but I don’t know these guys in and out. There is a lot of great talent here, but there is a lot of great talent on Florida State’s roster.
I can be the putty. That’s how I started out playing at Florida State. Just being the putty – I can play every position. I know I’m 6’4”, 305 lbs., but I can kick out to left tackle believe it or not. Just bringing versatility to the offense.
I wouldn’t say that it was right before entering this process; it was the whole five years. It was Coach Trickett. He was teaching more about life than just football. Your work ethic, how you present yourself, carry yourself, your body language. Things like that. That had a lot to do with my success.