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NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Joshua Gross, TE, Faulkner University

Faulkner tight end Josh Gross is a big boy with soft hands
Faulkner tight end Joshua Gross is a big boy with soft hands

NFL Draft Diamonds and our staff have been bringing our readers Prospect Interviews over the past 2 years and this year we mixed up the questions and added some fun questions for our readers. We have tons of NFL staff that read our interviews, and we actually received several of the questions from NFL scouts we speak too. This gives them a little bit more information regarding your character. We hope to bring you more than 300 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.

What is your name? 

My name is Joshua Gross

What is your Height/Weight? 

Height- 6’3  Weight- 235-240

What is your position?

Position- Tight End

Where do you play college football? 

I play at Faulkner University

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

Coolest thing I have done is going to the local Elementary school and talking to the kids and signing autographs for them. It was one the best experiences I ever had in my life as a football player. Just to put a smile on the kids faces was cool.

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

Hardest college class- Sociology

Where are you from? 

Macon Georgia

Who is your role model, and why? 

Role Model- My Mom, I never seen a woman do so much for so many people and never stop. Raising 3 boys and always being there and helping me out throughout all my years growing up.

Did you play any other sports growing up? 

Basketball, Bowling.

Did you play any other positions in football? 

Quarterback, Safety

At your position, what separates you from others? 

What separates me from others is my athletic ability, being able to play slot or line up on the outside and playing H-back. I’m a mismatch player for opposing defenses. Also I have very strong hands, and fast for my size.

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

When breaking down film I look at the DE, Outside LB and Safety’s. With the DE’s I look for stance to see how they pass rush vs the run game. The Outside LB’s I look at feet and coverage skills, and hips. Safeties I look at coverage skills, how they play in man and zone defense.

faulknerWho was the toughest player you ever faced? 

Toughest Player Played Against- Taylor Heinicke (QB-ODU).

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

Antonio Gates because we both have big bodies and know how to use it, we create mismatches, great hands, and good route running skills.

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

Biggest obstacle in my life would be taking care of my mom after her brain surgery and sitting out of football for a whole year. I overcame it by helping my mom out and with not being able to play football, I took that year to get myself better and to train harder for my comeback senior season. Football became more important to me after I had to sit out for a year, it made me value it more.

Do you have any pre-game rituals? 

Pre Game Rituals- Listening to slow music to calm me down and making sure I got my gear right, nothing big.

As a small school football player what obstacles do you feel you have to overcome?

I have to face being the underdog, being put behind all the top TE’s for this years draft. Also every combine or bowl game that I hit, I just need to make a name for myself to get noticed and produce to give myself a shot. I will keep proving people wrong.

What is your biggest strength? 

Biggest Strength- My Hands

What is your biggest weakness? 

Biggest Weakness- Not showing enough Emotions

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

You will be getting a hard worker, a great team player and character for the team and organization. I will always come ready to work and get better. You won’t have to worry about me off the field because I take care of myself and don’t put myself in bad situations. I will be a good teammate on and off the field, I just want to better myself and become a great football player for myself and use football as a platform for me to better myself for life after football. You will not regret taking a chance on me.

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

Favorite player Chad Johnson. Favorite team growing up Atlanta Falcons because of Michael Vick.

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

Muhammad Ali, Shannon Sharpe, Bill Gates

With your first NFL paycheck what would you buy?

First NFL paycheck I would pay of Mom & Dad’s new house and buy mom a new car.

Rapid Answers:

  • Spongebob or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
  • Backstreet Boys or One Direction?
  • Lifetime Channel or HGTV?
  • Waffles or Pancakes?
  • Snakes or Spiders?
  • Madden or Mario?

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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