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Q: How old were you whenyou started playing football and what position did youplay?**
A: I was seven-years old and I started off with the Lamar Green Hornets in Richmond, Texas. My first position was offensive tackle and I thought that was the best position you could ever play, because you are just lining up and blocking guys. I played there until my coaches realized I was faster than everyone on the team, so they moved me to running back.
Q: What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A: I wanted to be a professional football player. Ever since I was about five-years old, I grew up watching Notre Dame football games and that's originally the school that I wanted to go to. Every game I could catch on TV, I would watch, whether it was NFL or college. I've always wanted to be a professional football player.
Q: What were your favorite and least favorite subjects in school?
A: My favorite subject in school was history. For some odd reason I enjoyed learning about Christopher Columbus and all those important historical names. My least favorite was math. I never really got into it.
Q: Did you get along with your siblings when you were growing up?
A: I had three other siblings, a younger sister, an older brother and an older sister and we had good times together. With any siblings, you are going to fight and argue, but the majority of the time we had fun together and we got along well. We're still close to this day.
Q: What was your room decorated like when you were a kid?
A: In my room I had a Houston Chronicle newspaper, which had a life-sized Hakeem Olajuwon poster. I wasn't really a fan of the Houston Rockets, but this poster was so big that I had to put it on my wall. It was one of those things I enjoyed looking at every day, along with a poster of Bo Jackson. I had a couple of small things on my wall, which motivated me because I thought, 'If these guys can make it, why can't I make it?'
Q: Which Saturday morning cartoons did you watch as a kid?
A: I was a big fan of the Goof Troop and The Smurfs. The Smurfs really were my favorite.
Q: What were you like as a student and did you ever get sent to the principal's office?
A: I got popped [spanked] once and I don't think they really pop kids in school anymore. I was in the third grade and I hit the PE teacher with a rubber ball. I wasn't trying to hit her, but I hit her right above her eye and I was sent to the principal's office. Then I got three pops with a paddle. I don't think they do it anymore, but back then if you misbehaved, you would get paddled.
Q: What was your favorite thing to do in the summer as a kid?
A: I enjoyed riding bikes with my cousin. We were big on going into different neighborhoods with our bikes and just having fun. We'd let dogs chase us around and we'd try to outrun them.
Q: What was your first and worst job?
A: My first job was being a dishwasher. At the time, I thought it was the best job you could have. I made sure everything was cleaned and I became a clean-freak. I'd have to say my worst job was in college, when I did security at raves. You'd be there from 10 o'clock at night to six in the morning and that was probably the worst experience I've ever had to go through, just watching people dance all night.
Q: What was your favorite and least favorite food when you were little?
A: My favorite food is still my favorite and that would be hot dogs. I love hot dogs, any type of hot dogs, however you prepare them – I'll eat them. I've tried to get a hot dog from Candlestick Park, but I haven't been able to get that arranged yet.
My least favorite food when I was a kid was pinto beans or any type of bean. Lima beans or pinto beans, any kind of beans, I just couldn't stand.
Q: What was the best vacation of your childhood?
A: I'd say when I went to South Carolina to visit my step-father's family. We just had a wonderful time. The drive from Texas took us like 18 hours to get there, but meeting my cousins, who I didn't know before, and having the opportunity to get to know them was a special experience.
Q: What was your favorite toy to play with as a kid?
A: I would say I was more into video games. I wasn't really into toys. I liked Nintendo and Sega Genesis games, those were the things I was playing with.
Q: You have two daughters and a son, what's the best and worst part about being a father?
A: The best part of being a father is your kids looking up to you and how they believe in everything you say. I have a five-year old daughter named Morgan, a two-year old daughter named Natalie and an eleventh-month old boy named Mason, and they look to me for guidance and I can see that my kids love me. It's wonderful for me, because I see it every day. The worst thing about being a father for me is telling me kids, 'No.' The look on their faces, when I tell them, 'No they can't have something,' – it hurts me a little bit. But sometimes you have to tell your kids no.
