TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

As you prepare to face Kent State, a team you lost 34-24 to last year, on Nov. 6, the major thought has to be how will you stop quarterback Josh Cribbs, who passed for 200 yards and ran for 160 last year. What are you going to do to keep him contained?
To contain (Cribbs), we’re going to have to spy on him and try to keep him in the pocket. We can’t let him get outside on us. We have to tackle him. That’s what happened last year - we missed a couple tackles on him and he broke out on us.

During the second quarter of the Syracuse game on Sept. 11, you picked up a fumble at the UB 43-yard line and ran it 57 yards for a touchdown to give Buffalo a 10-3 lead. What was that moment like?
It was wonderful, my first touchdown ever here. I was excited; the crowd was excited. It was just great; great for us, great for me, great for everybody.

Before the Central Florida game, there were a couple negative editorials written in the Orlando Sentinel. How much of a motivating factor was that in the 48-20 win?
Whenever someone talks negative about you, that kind of stirs in your stomach and gets you in the chest and gets you amped up to prove them wrong. So basically, we just went out there and were amped up. When I first heard it, I was upset and was like, 'OK, we’re going to show ‘em; we’re going to show ‘em.' Then it just came down to playing football and getting after them, and that’s what we did.

You’ve played against two NFL quarterbacks (Byron Leftwich at Marshall and Ben Roethlisberger at Miami, OH). What’s it like going into a game knowing that scouts are there watching other players and possibly, watching you?
At the time, I probably didn’t even think about it, but there’s always someone telling you that, 'When they’re watching them, they’re probably watching you.' But at that time, I’m just playing as hard as I can and hopefully, just doing good things on the field and hopefully, I can come up with the win.

As a redshirt freshman, you came in and set a freshman record with 108 tackles. Did you think you’d make an impact that quickly at UB?
I knew I could play, but I never thought I was going to make that many tackles that year. I knew I could come in and make an impact when I got on the field. I knew I could play football.

After you redshirted in 2000, Jim Hofher was named head coach in the spring of 2001. What has he offered the school and the program in the last four years?
He’s a good vocal leader. He makes good speeches. He’s an enthusiastic coach; he talks and tells us what’s on his mind and keeps everything true, so far from what I have seen. He’s got a positive attitude; he always tells us to keep playing tough and he’s never negative.

You went to high school just a few miles from UB’s North Campus. You saw UB Stadium as it was built for the World University Games in 1993. Did you ever think as a kid you’d have a chance to play on that field?
As a young kid, I never even thought about playing college football, because I wasn’t really into college football. Some families are into football, but my family wasn’t into college football and rivalries and all that. Basically, I was playing football just because I liked to play. I never said I like Nebraska or I like Notre Dame. I never did that when I was young.

Everybody on our team knows about the conferences and I don’t know anything about that because I never paid attention to it. I didn’t even know about UB until my junior year. I never even thought about playing football here. I didn’t even think about playing college football until my junior year.

What was the recruiting process like during your senior year as you made the choice to attend the University at Buffalo?
Going into my senior year, I didn’t have good enough grades to where I could get recruited by another big-time school. I guess some schools were overlooking me. Basically, I was one of those guys that needed a high SAT score to get into the clearinghouse. So finally, in the last couple weeks before the signing date, I got the score.

My high school football coach (Sweet Home’s John Faller) played here, so he knew some people here and he gave them a call. They came, set me up for a visit and offered me a scholarship. I accepted right away.

In the 2004 Football Yearbook, it says your favorite athlete is Deion Sanders. What do you think about Sanders coming out of retirement to join the Ravens at age 37?
That’s phenomenal. I saw him play against the Bills and he was looking like he was 21 years old, man. It was crazy. I was happy for him. He’s one of my favorite players of all-time. I would love to be at that age and be able to play in the league like that.

What has been your favorite moment as a student-athlete at the University at Buffalo?
My favorite moment here, most likely, was when we went to Army and we beat them (26-19 on Nov. 10, 2001). We went to the museum that they have and we saw a lot of weapons that they used in war. When we got there, there were some guards outside with guns and they were protecting the stadium, so that was something else. That was really a great moment for me.