Q. How”s the switch from defensive end to tight end going so far?

A. Before I got a little dinged up today, I thought I was playing really well. I was a D-lineman for my first three years, and I always say I want to do what I hated the tight ends doing to me when I played defensive end. I think it”s finally starting to work, I”m starting to look the ball in(to my hands). I scored my first touchdown in practice today so I was pretty happy.

Q. Any plans for your first touchdown in the regular season?

A. I”m gonna hand it to the ref, celebrate with my teammates and act like I”ve been there before.

Q. How much of a role does the tight end play in the spread offense?

A. When you”re in the Big Ten, you have to run the ball. You”re not going to win if you start relying on the pass and teams can stack the defensive backs all over the place. We want to establish the run and the tight end is a big part of that.

Q. What”s it like to be tackled instead of doing the tackling?

A. That was a new thing. I hadn”t been tackled since high school. I was like “What? These guys are tackling me now?” But there are plenty of chances to hit guys off the line, so I don”t miss tackling too much. Hitting is hitting.

Q. Do you have any strange pre-game rituals?

A. I don”t want to condone the use of smokeless tobacco — neither of us are dippers at all– but before every game me and Colby Clark have a dip, and it gets us in the right place, it”s so nasty.

Q. Who”s the best on the team at PlayStation 2″s NCAA Football 2003?

A. You”re gonna run into a lot of controversy over that. The whole house with Roger Jordan and Jarvis Adams is pretty good, but we claim over at 1024 Noyes that we”re the best.

Q. How good is the player Ray Bogenrief in the video game?

A. I think sophomore year they gave me a little too much credit, but this year they took some of my stats away. I thought that was kind of harsh. I always love using myself, everyone gets a big chuckle when they get knocked down or catch a pass. I love that game, it”s the whole reason I bought Playstation 2.

Q. Who”s the best trash talker on the team?

A. Wow. From first-hand experience, I go against J.P. (John Pickens) everyday, so I have to give him a lot of credit. He says some good stuff. I just learned all these new plays, and I”m trying to concentrate on what I have to do, and he”s saying stuff to make me laugh, getting after me. Last Saturday I dropped a pass in a scrimmage, and he”s getting all over me about it.

Q. How”d the intramural basketball team do this winter?

A. The Flying Penguins won it all, two straight championships. Like we say, we”re trying to set up a dynasty like the Lakers. We”re bringing in new fresh recruits every year and keeping our ears to the street about Northwestern intramurals. We got (former NU basketball players) Michael Jenkins and Drew Long and they really helped our outside game. We”ve got a new secret player coming in next year, but I can”t talk about that right now. It”s too top-secret.

Q. What would be your ideal pre-game meal?

A. I give a lot of credit to our cooks. I love what they make, the steaks and everything. I don”t even want to think about it because I had to drop a little weight changing positions. You”re gonna get me thickened up again.

Jim Martinho is a Medill sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected].