NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Jacob Russell, QB, Campbellsville University

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?

Jacob Russell

What is your Height/Weight?

6’4 235

What is your position?

QB

Where do you play college football?

Campbellsville University

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

I went on a mission trip last spring break with Sports Reach to 4-5 different maximum security prisons in Florida, and had an unbelievable experience playing softball and sharing the gospel with the inmates

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

Chemistry

Where are you from?

Lawrenceburg, KY

Who is your role model, and why?

Jesus Christ, because he lived a life serving other and died for our sins, the ultimate selfless act

Did you play any other sports growing up?

Baseball (through college), Basketball, Golf

Did you play any other positions in football?

SS and OLB in HS

At your position, what separates you from others?

Decision making, timing, accuracy, and resiliency

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

The defense’s schemes and tendencies, in what situations (down and distance, offensive and defensive personnel, formation, ect.) will a team play a particular coverage/scheme, and the then the overall and individual details within those coverages and schemes, such as a team’s vulnerability away from their zone blitzes, or a safety that consistently gets overly aggressive on 1st down play action, as well as passing and running concepts that have or haven’t had success against that team in certain situations

Who was the toughest player you ever faced? 

Danny Trevathan in practice at UK

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

Kirk Cousins, we’re very similar physically, and why neither of us have the athleticism of Cam Newton or the arm strength of Aaron Rodgers, we both have the innate ability to consistently make quick and correct decisions, while throwing the ball with great timing and accuracy

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

The idolatry of football and making it more more important than my faith, but I’ve overcome that through constant prayer and reading of the Bible, and most importantly not making football any less important in my life, but making God the reason and motivation for everything I do

Do you have any pre-game rituals? 

Pray

What is your biggest strength? 

The ability to instill the belief in my teammates that no matter the opponent, score, or time left on the clock, we will win the game

What is your biggest weakness? 

Overtraining, sometimes I have a really hard time just taking a day off and getting the proper rest and recovery needed, and will train so hard and long that at times it can become counterproductive

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

I can tell you all the reasons you should sign me the next few minutes…or I can show you the next 12-15 years

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

Brett Favre/Green Bay Packers

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

Jesus Christ, John Wooden, Apollo Anton Ohno

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