Q and A with Ohio State WR Gonzalez

Ohio State wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez drew quite a crowd during his Friday media session at the Combine. Find out more about this highly regarded receiver in this Q&A…

Q: How do you see yourself fitting in on an NFL team?

A: Well, hopefully I’ll be able to make the transition as smoothly as possible. Once Draft Day is over with, my full attention is going to be on making whatever team picks me the best possible team I can make it. Anything I can do in my power to contribute to victory is something I look forward to doing.

Q: What does it do for you to have Tedd Ginn around to compare yourself to?

A: The thing about having Ted around is that he’s a tremendous athlete, obviously. For the last three years and even before – we knew each other in high school – we’ve just gotten closer as friends and better as athletes. I think that’s part of going to a big school really, the fact that it’s just natural for a lot of the top recruits to go to these top schools and have great competition. The team is always excelling and is always at the top of its game.

Q: Was there one thing that you decided you need to nail here?

A: Well, the 40 is the thing that everybody seems to put the biggest emphasis on. My theory behind that is that if there is one thing I’ve been doing, I’ve been running my whole life. You run as soon as you’re able to, it seems like. So that’s something I’m not overly concerned about. In all honesty, I’m just really excited about the whole process and meeting people, getting to know people. Getting here and meeting people is something I’m pleased to do and excited about.

Q: Were there any questions that you thought were off-the-wall or that challenged you?

A: I’m still waiting for that, I guess. None of the questions have been over-the-top or difficult for me to answer. I use the approach that I always do. I try to be as honest as humanly possible at all times. That’s the approach I’ve taken.

Q: What do you think about all of psychological testing?

A: I don’t know. In all honesty, I can’t say for sure what they’re looking for in a psychological test. I don’t know if anybody can really. How do you beat the psych test? Is that even possible?

Q: Are you excited about it?

A: About trying to beat the psych test? I don’t know. Again, I’ll just go in and be as honest as I can be. I don’t think I’m crazy. Hopefully, nobody does.

Q: Will your training in philosophy help you in any way here?

A: I don’t know. Philosophy probably helps you in life and football is part of life, so yeah. Absolutely.

Q: What is your style, and what you will bring to an NFL club?

A: What I think I will bring or what I hope to bring is consistency, reliability, and accountability. That’s on the field, off-the-field, wherever. I want to be the type of person who coaches and fans and the media know that when he comes to a situation, he’s going to bring it. This is what he expect out of him and he’s a consistent person so we believe that that’s what he’ll do. That’s how I’ve always tried to approach everything in life. I want to be as consistently good as possible.”

Q: What kind of influence has your dad had?

A: His influence comes from more than just a football career, obviously. He helps me with everything in my life really. The things that he has always stressed are more universal than they are specific. “You have to work harder than everybody else. You have to persist you can never give up.” That’s more his role. I also get a lot of guidance from my mother and my siblings. I’m very fortunate to have what I believe is a very strong family.

Q: What are your thoughts on teams digging into the backgrounds of the players?

A: To be honest, I don’t care if people know everything about me. I’ve always been a very open person when it comes to pretty much anything in my life. So that sort of thing doesn’t bother me. I don’t have any skeletons in my closet or anything that I’m not at least willing to take responsibility for. It is what it is. It’s important, because you obviously don’t want to invest millions of dollars into somebody who has poor character or is liable to make poor decisions.

Q: Do you still plan to pursue a law degree?

A: Yeah, eventually. It’s been put on the backburner, hopefully for a very long time. It is something that I plan to do at some point in the future. Whether it’s Stanford or not, that’s up to them. I’m certainly going to apply.

Q: Is your goal to make it into the first round?

A: From a draft standpoint, my goal is to be picked by the team that’s the best for me. That encompasses a lot. That’s not just financially, obviously. I just hope that at the end of the day I’m pleased with the situation that I’m in and I feel that I will be.

Q: What would be your ideal situation?

A: I don’t know. People always ask that. People always say, ‘Do you want to play for this team?’ I’ll play for any team. I want to play football. The hardest part of this whole process, to be honest, is not having teammates – just being one guy, trying to train so he can get drafted the highest. It’s difficult not being with teammates and not having that bond, that brotherhood that you get from being on a team. That’s the most difficult part. I just want to be picked. I just want a team. I want to meet people and have coaches, have a team, and try to win football games. That’s what I want to try to do.