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NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: J.J. Denman, OT, Rutgers University

J.J. Denman of Rutgers is a big boy with starting experience.

NFL Draft Diamonds website has been providing our readers Prospect Interviews over the past 3 years and this year we mixed things up a bit. Our questions are designed to give our readers a little more insight on the draft eligible player. We hope to bring you more than 500 interviews of NFL Draft Prospects this season. You will be able to track them all on the front page of our website in the banner to the right.  Now let’s meet our next prospect!!!!

What is your name? 

J.J. Denman

What is your Height/Weight? 

6’6” 320 lbs.

What is your position? 

RG/RT

Where do you play college football? 

Rutgers University

Football is about giving back, what is the coolest thing you have done off the field? 

Annually at Rutgers, a few other teammates and I traveled to a local YMCA for “Saturdays in Motion. During Saturdays in motion, we spent time with children with multiple mental and physical disabilities helping them have a good time being active, playing sports, and swimming in the pool. The kids loved participating and we loved being able to help. The children’s parents also loved these days.

What was the hardest college class you ever had to take?

Expository Writing

Where are you from? 

Yardley, PA

Who is your role model, and why? 

My father. He’s faced more adversity in his life than most people and has come out beyond successful.

Did you play any other sports growing up? 

Yes. Basketball, baseball, lacrosse, wrestling, track and field.

Did you play any other positions in football? 

Just offensive line.                                             

At your position, what separates you from others?

The efficiency of my footwork, my athleticism, and my desire to learn as much as I can about the offensive line as a position.

When you are breaking down film, what do you look for?

When breaking down an opposing defender, I watch the whole game first. Then I break it down into down, distance, and situation and look for certain things like his primary pass rushing move in a certain situation or how he reacts to the run. I also look at how his motor progresses or doesn’t throughout a game.

Who was the toughest player you ever faced? 

Joey Bosa from Ohio State.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be and why? 

Doug Free from the Dallas Cowboys based on the efficiency of his feet as well as certain techniques he uses in certain situations.

What was the biggest obstacle in your life you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it?

The biggest obstacle me and my family have faced this far has been my mother becoming ill. My mom has had dementia for around 5 years now. Anyone who has been a caretaker for someone with this disease knows how challenging it is for not only the patient, but the family.  People who are familiar with the disease also know how brutal and relentless it is. No one ever deserves to get dementia, especially before they are 50 years old.

Do you have any pre-game rituals? 

Listening to music and running through plays in my head.

What is your biggest strength? 

My ability to be a great teammate and the desire to be great.

What is your biggest weakness? 

Trusting my own ability at times.

If I were a GM and gave you a second to sell yourself, what would you say? 

I am a player who is able to play all 5 positions on the offensive line and am someone who will come to work with a great attitude and exert maximum effort every day to become the best player that I can be.

Who was your favorite player and/or NFL team growing up? 

Michael Strahan.

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose? 

Albert Einstein, Muhammad Ali, Robin Williams.

What will be the first big item you buy once you are in the NFL?

A place to live.

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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