Bender Rodriguez - OL - Temple Press Conference

[BenderRodriguez]

Howdy, Rex Tumbleweed, West Texas Wheelbarrow. Got some questions for you:


1. You have a shaky past with drinking, to be frank, and it looks like that might be a concern for many teams. What steps have you taken to work on this issue?

2. What can you bring to a locker room?

3. What's something you excel at on the OL, and what's your greatest weakness?

4. How easily do imagine you'll transition into the NSFL?

Hey there Rex - heard a lot about you and the Wheelbarrow. Thanks for showing up.

1. Well, here's the thing. I don't think you'll find a football player in this league who doesn't like to pop a can once in awhile. I don't really think I'm *hic* - err .. scuse me... much different than anyone else. I know teams see my draft profile and they think these situations are much bigger than they actually were. Did I get caught at a bar in high school? Yeah. And I did have one incident in college that could be attributed to hazing more than anything. But look, I'm a grown man now. I can't be busted for underage drinking because I'm not underage. And I'm not going to do anything excessive that's going to make a team think I'm not committed 100%. I think I proved that over the last two years.


2. I think other guys find me to be the comic relief in the locker room. I'm always one to crack a joke, mostly at my own expense. People like me bring a lot of joy and value to a locker room.


3. My best game is when I'm moving forward. If you check out our run game on tape, you'll see who was truly running the play. I take pride in my ability to open up lanes and get to the second level fast.


4. Transitioning to the NSFL is going to be amazing. I'm all for putting in hard work, but the fact that everything is simulated takes all the pressure off. I can finally sit back and let my attributes do all the work.