2020 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Peter Delatour Jr., LB, Marist College

• Name: Peter Delatour Jr.
• Height: 6’0
• Weight: 235
• Position: MLB / OLB / DE
• College: Marist College 
• Twitter: @DelatourJr

Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?

•  I am from Miami, Florida. I think what I love most about Miami is the diversity of food and people you can find there. Moving up north for college, I really came to appreciate that aspect of my home.

List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?

• Practice comes first because I believe that you can really develop muscle memory on the field and actually see plays live in front of you and get to see how you respond to them. Secondly I have to say Film is my next important aspect because with film you can prepare yourself mentally for what you may see on the field. To me film is a big part of my preparation for practice and games. It’s important to correct mistakes you’ve made and others have made to get the best outcome on the field. I rank Strength and Conditioning last of those three not because it isn’t important but I feel In the game of football the mental and physical repetition of the sport is more valuable than your bench or squat max. That being said, the weight room aspect of the game is still very important to improving parts of your physical performance that can translate to the field. 

What do you worry about, and why?

• I worry about a lot to be honest. I worry about my success, my future, my family and how I can contribute to it’s legacy. I worry about these things because they’re all part of what I feel is important things for me to consider myself successful in life. I want to be successful and excel in everything I do and I want my family to be proud of what I’ve achieved and what what I am aspiring to achieve as well. 

Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?

• What I consider one of my biggest failures came the season after my award of ECAC FCS Defensive rookie of the year in 2016. I had knee surgery after that season and I worked very hard to get back on the field and actually beat my expected recovery time by a month but didn’t quite perform to my expectations that season. I didn’t receive much recognition or awards and that really hurt me personally because I knew the effort and work I put in to get back on the field and it apparently wasn’t enough. I wanted to prove to the world that regardless of my underdog status on the path to my dreams to play in the NFL, that I am still a baller on the field. So after that season I made a position change from Defensive End to Linebacker and a lot of people didn’t believe I could make the transition but I worked hard all offseason learning and perfecting my skills and tailoring my pass rush capabilities to my new position. And I was proud to have overcome my struggles and become acknowledged as a starter on my defense not only at LB but also DE on third downs and earned Defensive MVP for my performance  in the spring football practices and game. 

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

• I would say my teammates appreciate my style of leadership most. I’m not only somebody they can count on in the game. Whether it’s delivering pregame speeches or inspiring the team to keep fighting during a series of unfortunate events in the game. I’m also somebody they feel comfortable asking a question about anything in practice and willing to stay after practice to help them work on things they may want to improve. 

Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?

• The best player I’ve ever lined up against had to have been Julien Davenport who was a Offensive tackle for the Texans but currently plays for the Miami Dolphins Organization. He was my first official NFL prototypical matchup in my college career and it was a good game. I recorded Two tackles for loss and a sack against that Bucknell team. 

What would your career be if you couldn’t play football? 

• I’m not sure where I’d be without Football. But I imagine I would either be a culinary chef or an entrepreneur in the modern innovation of the business world. 

Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?

•  Room, I can’t live in messiness. 

If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?

• One family member because I couldn’t imagine myself deciding to save three complete strangers over somebody in my family. 

If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?

• Ari Gold, from the show entourage. He is my all time favorite personality and character I’ve watched. 

Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?

• One of my biggest adversities faced was the transition from a non athletic kid who never played football before high school into that football player I wanted to be. My Freshman year of high school was my first year ever playing football. I remember reporting to preseason workouts to test the first day on some measurables and combine skills. I ran a 5.9 40 yard dash and recorded below average testing results in the rest of the drills. I wasn’t athletic by any means, I wasn’t the smartest in the game, but I worked hard on myself and put in all the extra hours that a lot of people decided to spend doing other things. And I feel that drive to always be something greater shaped me to be the player I am today and helped me overcome my obstacle of figuring out how to become the football player I wanted to be. 

What is your most embarrassing moment?

• One of my most embarrassing moments probably came from a vacation I took with my family on a cruise ship. We were playing some family scavenger hunt game where they had to dress a male in the group with clothing articles from women in the group that were on on the list and the best dressed male with as much of the women clothing articles found on the list won the competition and my family chose me unfortunately. Till today i pray my aunt never gets angry enough at me to leak any of the tragic pictures she has of me dressed up with some questionably embarrassing woman’s clothing.

What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?

• One of my most memorable plays of college career was probably my game ending sack against Stetson. It was our first home game of the season. We were up 3 points with 12 seconds left in the game, no timeouts and on 4th and 7 on the plus 35 . I pass rushed off the edge and made an inside move on a double team to get the game winning sack and I can remember the crowd roar and my teammates jumping all over the sidelines with excitement.

What song best describes your work ethic?

• “Last Breath” by Future and “Downfall” By MJ Chillin. 

What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level? 

• I feel that determination may be one of the most important traits you can have by your side at the next level. It’s a tough business and things can easily take a turn for the worst but to me that drive, that determination to not take no for answer and find a way to succeed could be a key factor in a career moving forward at the next level. 

If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?

• If I had the opportunity to bring somebody back from the dead for a day I would bring back my Tia Coralia. She was a big part of my upbringing and she watched me play football all throughout my high school career. Unfortunately she never made it to see me play any of my college games as she passed away my Redshirt Freshman season. She was one of my top supporters and I wish I could bring her back to watch one of my games and hangout with me one more time. I can only imagine how proud she would be of everything I’ve accomplished. 

If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it? 

• Club Latour

Who is the most underrated player in the NFL? 

• Bobby Wagner for years has been the NFL’s most under appreciated defensive player. He is the best player at his position in the NFL despite his stature of 6’0 240Lbs. I admire his work ethic in terms of film study and play on the the field. 

Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?

• I rather be liked. One of my goals in life is to be somebody who my kids and people all around the world can look up as an inspiration.

Do you love to win, or hate to lose?

• I love to win. 

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?

•My biggest influences in life are my Mother and Uncle. They’ve shaped me to be the man I am today on and off the field. Everything I do in life requires me trying to decide on how they would want me to do it and what they would approve to be the right things for me. And I couldn’t have asked for a better support group to keep me on the correct path to achieve anything I desire.