Ben Longshaw - Media Day

[dropbear]

1. Was OL your first choice for position, and why?
2. Was football always your first choice for a sport?
3. Did College make/break your football dreams or did that happen before?
4. Team you'd rather play for, versus least favorite team, why?
5. Will you be more likely to sign long-term quick or no?

1 - Absolutely. To me, the offensive line is where football is still football, as it was as far back as when it was first played. We're the guys who don't hear our names unless something's going wrong, and I know that's exactly how I like it - and how every guy I've ever lined up next to has liked it. We get to play football and not worry about the rest of the stuff that goes on.

2 - I love any sport that I play. I've played soccer, tennis, basketball, baseball... you name it! I've even been a swimmer. That said, I was always the #1 guy in football, whereas I was just having fun in whatever else I played. So it was natural for me to go down this path. But, I've loved every sport I've played equally. As long as I'm out there and active and part of a team or working with people with a common goal, I'm a happy man!

3 - I was top-rated guy coming out of high school, and in essence I had the pick of the bunch when it came to college. But as you'll see reported in the leaked OL scouting report from the SaberCats, they rightly identified that I chose to stay local to Illinois and play for the Huskies. That probably hurt my draft stock a little bit, but I don't regret it one bit.

4 & 5- I'll bust my ass for whoever picks me, and whoever picks me is gonna have a guy that's ready to commit long term as soon as I've proven myself and get the offer from the team. As I said to another interview, I want to be the cornerstone of the franchise and make them feel comfortable developing players elsewhere in our team and not worrying about signing or drafting more OL guys. I want to be the foundation that a multiple championship-winning team is built upon, even if we don't win it all straight away. And if we never win it, I'll be fine with that too so long as the guys around me have lived and breathed that same team culture and have busted their ass trying to win it all.