The season opener against Colorado is right around the corner. How's the team looking?
We're coming along. We just finished our fall camp. There were some guys that were injured in the beginning so we just recently got our starting lineup together on both offense and defense. It's good to see that everybody is coming around and I'm excited because it looks like we can do some good things this year.

How does it feel to be voted of the team captains this year?
It's a great honor for me to be named team captain. It's just humbling to know that I have my teammate's respect. I just hope that I can live up to the expectations and be the best leader that I possibly can.

You were a state championship wrestler in high school. Why did you pick football over wrestling?
Football was my first love. Growing up my father was a football, wrestling, and judo coach but football was always our thing. When I was a little kid I would sit in his lap as a baby and just watch a whole NFL game with him. Everything was always football, football, football for me. Wrestling is what I loved to do also, but football is my first love.

How was it like to have your dad as your high school coach?
Basically when I got to high school my dad was my coach from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. It was actually a great experience and a blessing in disguise because I got to be with my dad a lot and picked up a lot from him. I'm the person I am today because of him. He rubbed off his morals and his values. The way he looked at life, and the way he coached kind of got instilled on to me so it's been a blessing.

What's your favorite moment playing football at UH so far?
I remember my freshman year when I first got to run down on a kickoff. It was my first college game, the crowd was going crazy, and I was a little nervous. And I just remember flying down on the kickoff and trying to hit somebody. That's the most memorable moment I had playing over here.

At what moment did you know you could play at the Division I level?
After the first game that I got to play on special teams. At first I was only starting on one of the special teams. I was starting on the kickoff team. But due to some injuries during the game I ended up on all four (special teams units). From then on I realized that I actually had a shot to play at this level so it just kind of fueled the fire for me to work harder and harder every year.

You ever hear comments from opposing players or fans about your size?
Usually when we're running out of the tunnel some fans and some of the players would just look at me and say, 'Hey you're a little too little to be playing football' and I'd just smile and laugh. Once the ball is snapped and we're on the field that don't matter. I feel like my play will speak for itself.

Are there any NFL players who you model your game after?
I have a few safeties who I go on to YouTube and watch some of their highlights. The main one is Bob Sanders. He's only 5-8 but he plays like he's 6-0. He comes down reckless, hits hard, can jump, he's fast, and he's a great leader in the secondary so I tend to watch a lot of his highlights and try to be like him.

What's your major and career aspirations?
I'm a family resources major and after college I hope to get my master's degree and try to get into counseling.

What do you do in your spare time?
With the little spare time that I have, I love to just go back to the North Shore side, get a home cooked meal, and just relax at the beach and chill in the water.

What are your hobbies?
My biggest hobby honestly is just going back to the North Shore and coaching for the high school. Just going back and coaching all the sports, whether it be wrestling, football, or even judo, I just always have to be around athletics.

What's one thing that people don't know about you?
I can actually cook pretty well. I make a pretty mean spaghetti even though it's pretty easy. But I can also cook some salmon pretty well and cook some fancy dishes so I'm a little chef right there too.

 What's the one thing you can't live without?
The one thing I couldn't live without would have to be my family. Without them I don't think that I would be able to be who I am today and I wouldn't have accomplished any of the things that I have. During my ups and downs they've always been there so they're the most important thing to me