247 Ink Magazine (February/March) 2017 Issue#13 | Page 167

backer from Ohio State . I played against him when I was in Indiana now he was on my team . There was a lot of stuff going on ; It was pretty nerve wracking but then I started to get the hang of it . Then we had our first game and I had to go against Jared Allen , the first defensive end other than the guys on my team . I was nervous . I jumped offside on one of my plays and he bull rushes me . So it was like a one-on-one pass rush and nobody else is moving except me and Jared Allen . That was pretty embarrassing but I was able to hold him off which kind of got my nerves out of there and then I was able to play . It was definitely crazy . We play four preseason games and as we get into the season it feels like I ’ ve been playing football forever . It ’ s a grind in and of itself .
During your rookie season did you have a defining moment where you thought to yourself , “ Hey , I can compete with these guys at this level ”? It was after my first game and I went against Joey Porter . I was nervous . I ’ m from Cleveland so I use to watch him when the Browns would go against the Steelers all the time . He was a beast as an outside linebacker . So I ’ m like “ Aw man ! What a way to start my first game !” So I ’ m going against him and as the game goes on I ’ m starting to get better and better . I was able to pass things off and eliminate rushes and then I was like , “ Alright , I can do this .” Then once I was able to play free and confident I really had a big season . I ended up on the All-Rookie team . It ’ s been history from there .
From the time you came into the NFL until now , were there any specific players who gave you support , words of advice or encouragement that still sticks with you today ? We ’ re a pretty tight knit group on the offensive line . Also with my agent who has a bunch of different guys . So we would always meet up and they always had good things to say and kind words to live by . When I was a rookie I was the only rookie on the offensive line

backer from Ohio State . I played against him when I was in Indiana now he was on my team . There was a lot of stuff going on ; It was pretty nerve wracking but then I started to get the hang of it . Then we had our first game and I had to go against Jared Allen , the first defensive end other than the guys on my team . I was nervous . I jumped offside on one of my plays and he bull rushes me . So it was like a one-on-one pass rush and nobody else is moving except me and Jared Allen . That was pretty embarrassing but I was able to hold him off which kind of got my nerves out of there and then I was able to play . It was definitely crazy . We play four preseason games and as we get into the season it feels like I ’ ve been playing football forever . It ’ s a grind in and of itself .

During your rookie season did you have a defining moment where you thought to yourself , “ Hey , I can compete with these guys at this level ”? It was after my first game and I went against Joey Porter . I was nervous . I ’ m from Cleveland so I use to watch him when the Browns would go against the Steelers all the time . He was a beast as an outside linebacker . So I ’ m like “ Aw man ! What a way to start my first game !” So I ’ m going against him and as the game goes on I ’ m starting to get better and better . I was able to pass things off and eliminate rushes and then I was like , “ Alright , I can do this .” Then once I was able to play free and confident I really had a big season . I ended up on the All-Rookie team . It ’ s been history from there .

From the time you came into the NFL until now , were there any specific players who gave you support , words of advice or encouragement that still sticks with you today ? We ’ re a pretty tight knit group on the offensive line . Also with my agent who has a bunch of different guys . So we would always meet up and they always had good things to say and kind words to live by . When I was a rookie I was the only rookie on the offensive line

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