http://www.azcardinals.com/press/pressdetails.php?sid=1247
Q&A with Safety Justin Lucas
You majored in industrial technology, what is that?
Industrial technology is a cross between engineering and production basically. I actually wanted to be an engineer but the math got way too hard in like the third or fourth year so I changed my major.
But now you are doing some real estate?
Yeah, I dibble and dabble. I have a couple of rental houses in the Valley.
How long would you like to play? What are you going to do when it’s over?
It depends on how long I play for and how much money I’ve made. I want to play until I am 30. I have about 4 more years in me. I just have other things I want to do after I am 30 years old. Real estate is going very well for me right now. If I were to quit right now, I probably would go work in the industrial technology field, some place like Intel.
If you could meet any person dead or alive, who would it be?
Martin Luther King Junior. I would just like to spend a day, spend an hour with him. He’s done so much for African Americans.
What would you want to ask him?
Everything. I would want to know how it was. What made him do this and that. Your parents tell you how it was, but he was a leader at that time. He had a lot of death threats against him and I just think he was very inspirational. I probably wouldn’t even be asking questions. He’d probably just be talking and I’d be listening.
If you could meet any President, who would it be?
Abraham Lincoln. With the Emancipation Proclamation and him freeing the slaves, I would just tell him thank you. If that hadn’t happened, I might have been a slave today. I may not have even been born.
What is your off-season routine like? Do you enjoy working out or do you have to really push yourself?
I like to take about 2 months to go away and just relax. I go visit my parents in Texas. I like to travel and I watch a whole lot of tv. I went to Atlanta this year for the all-star game, went to Cancun for a week. I try to go to Vegas about once a month just to get out of Phoenix. When I come back in March, I like to put everything back into football. I’m self-motivated to work out. I have a treadmill and an exercise bike in my house so I get up in the morning and the first thing I do is get in some cardio. With 8 weeks until the season, I am doing about an hour of cardio a day to keep my weight down. If you don’t do it early in the morning, you probably won’t do it. I get up early and get it over with.
Is it hard to find a routine in the off-season and not get bored?
Nah, not for me. Honestly, two years ago I kept the same routine and that actually got boring. Now, I spend two months in Phoenix with a personal trainer, then a month at the facility with Rogucki (strength coach), and then I’ll go back to Texas and work out with the San Antonio Spurs trainer for the last 4-5 weeks before camp so I am close to my parents and just back in Texas.
Where is the greatest state to live in?
Oh, you already know – TEXAS. But, the greatest state to have real estate in….Arizona.
Any place you’d really like to travel to?
I’d like to go overseas – probably some place like Italy or France.
What is your favorite television show?
There’s a lot of them. I could tell you one every night of the week.
Okay, well then tell me?
Oh man, alright, Monday… I usually rent a movie on Monday night. Tuesday was American Idol with Big Reuben. Wednesday night I like to watch reruns of Sanford and Son and also Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer. Thursday night, I usually am out and about. Friday is Fast Lane and basketball games and I’ll watch any type of sports on the weekends.
Even golf?
Oh no. Only if Tiger is playing, that’s the only way I’ll watch golf.
What is something most of your teammates don’t know about you?
Probably that I have a college degree and graduated with a 3.46.
Why, you think they don’t know you are smart?
No, they know what I have to offer upstairs. When players have questions on checks or something they’ll usually come ask me because I have been around a while and know the system. But it works both ways.
Your birthday is coming up, are you planning anything special?
Actually, it is really close to camp and so I don’t like to do too much. I’ll go down to New Orleans for the Essence weekend over the 4th of July, but that’s about it.
What is your least favorite part about training camp?
My least favorite part is the second day. The first day everyone is out there all excited and in full pads for the first practice. On the second practice, we just go in shoulder pads. But, the morning of the second day, your body is sore and you are thinking I have 16 or 17 more days of this and the meetings are REAL long. I’m used to it so it is just a countdown.
How long have you been playing football?
I was in 7th grade when I started playing.
Did you like it right away?
No, I was actually a four-sport athlete but I was real big on track. I went to Texas A&M I was a 175 pounds but then the freshman 15 hit and I went up to a 190 and that axed track out right there. I never thought I’d be a professional athlete, but I knew I’d always have a chance. When I transferred to Abilene Christian, I had two more years left in me and I wanted to have a chance to prove to myself and everyone else that I could play. I played cornerback my first year and was pretty good at it. My second year I played safety and when scouts started asking about me I knew I had a shot.
What has been your most memorable football moment so far?
It would definitely have to be my interception against the New York Giants last year. That play, it just gave me a lot of confidence. I try to replay that play in my head and I don’t know how I caught the ball. I see pictures and I think I just stuck out my left hand and caught it with one and brought it in. I actually didn’t think I could get to that ball. I was just reaching out and it was like God-given that it was supposed to be an interception. Then, everything in practice just took over. You catch the ball and you are running and you stay in bounds and the next thing you are thinking is don’t let the quarterback catch me. I knew my teammates would clown me if that were the case. I saw the quarterback coming and I thought this is for real so I dove into the endzone. I didn’t believe it was a touchdown. I was just begging for it. I didn’t have any celebration or anything. Still looking back, that was the play. In preseason a few years ago, I had a 100-yard interception returned against Seattle but it was against Glenn Foley and he threw 6 interceptions that game so it wasn’t that incredible.
What do you think the biggest misconception people have about NFL players?
That everyone is a millionaire. The league minimum this year was 225,000. It is good money, but not everyone is pulling in the big contracts you read about.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Outback Steakhouse, without a doubt. Crab legs, Tuwamba pasta. I am at Outback three or four times a week.
What would be your greatest achievement?
To be a good father.
Are you an impulse decision maker or do you tend to take a lot of time making decisions?
It depends on what it is. If its business, I like to take my time. If it is something like travel, I am more of an impulse decision maker.
What’s the hardest thing about playing your position?
I don’t think playing my position is really hard. The hardest thing about being an NFL player is that you have to prove yourself every time you step on the field. You have to prove yourself in training camp, then if you make the team, you have to prove yourself in practice and then on Sunday, you have to prove you can perform. The hardest thing about playing in the secondary is that we are more exposed. If the linebackers make a mistake, they have the secondary behind them. If a defensive lineman makes a mistake, they have the linebackers and the secondary behind them. A person in the secondary messes up, and we are vulnerable and very exposed. Everyone is going to see it.
Do you go anywhere without the other DB’s in tow?
Not too often. We are all good friends. Those are my boys and we hang around a lot.
How would you describe yourself?
I am easygoing, but I am sporadic. Sometimes I am moody, sometimes I am not. I like to call myself bi-polar. I am an easygoing cat, but if I am in one of my bad moods, I don’t like to be around myself.
Other Tuesday practice news....
Head Coach Dave McGinnis indicated that defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch may end up moving to the left side by the time training camp gets started.
"It is all the same techniques, everything is just mirrored," said Vanden Bosch. "You are doing everything the same but backwards. It is not a big adjustment. It just takes me getting used to a different place.
Also running back Emmitt Smith is not bothered that most of his starting blocking unit is sidelined right now due to injury.
"Right now, it is really trying to learn some of the stuff that we need to learn in terms of system to get prepared for training camp which is a little more than a month away," commented Smith. "You've got guys that are nursing injuries and coming back and recovering so it gives them a little longer to recover. Once you get to training camp that is when most of the work is going to be started and it is very important we have them in training camp more so than right now."
Q&A with Safety Justin Lucas
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You majored in industrial technology, what is that?
Industrial technology is a cross between engineering and production basically. I actually wanted to be an engineer but the math got way too hard in like the third or fourth year so I changed my major.
But now you are doing some real estate?
Yeah, I dibble and dabble. I have a couple of rental houses in the Valley.
How long would you like to play? What are you going to do when it’s over?
It depends on how long I play for and how much money I’ve made. I want to play until I am 30. I have about 4 more years in me. I just have other things I want to do after I am 30 years old. Real estate is going very well for me right now. If I were to quit right now, I probably would go work in the industrial technology field, some place like Intel.
If you could meet any person dead or alive, who would it be?
Martin Luther King Junior. I would just like to spend a day, spend an hour with him. He’s done so much for African Americans.
What would you want to ask him?
Everything. I would want to know how it was. What made him do this and that. Your parents tell you how it was, but he was a leader at that time. He had a lot of death threats against him and I just think he was very inspirational. I probably wouldn’t even be asking questions. He’d probably just be talking and I’d be listening.
If you could meet any President, who would it be?
Abraham Lincoln. With the Emancipation Proclamation and him freeing the slaves, I would just tell him thank you. If that hadn’t happened, I might have been a slave today. I may not have even been born.
What is your off-season routine like? Do you enjoy working out or do you have to really push yourself?
I like to take about 2 months to go away and just relax. I go visit my parents in Texas. I like to travel and I watch a whole lot of tv. I went to Atlanta this year for the all-star game, went to Cancun for a week. I try to go to Vegas about once a month just to get out of Phoenix. When I come back in March, I like to put everything back into football. I’m self-motivated to work out. I have a treadmill and an exercise bike in my house so I get up in the morning and the first thing I do is get in some cardio. With 8 weeks until the season, I am doing about an hour of cardio a day to keep my weight down. If you don’t do it early in the morning, you probably won’t do it. I get up early and get it over with.
Is it hard to find a routine in the off-season and not get bored?
Nah, not for me. Honestly, two years ago I kept the same routine and that actually got boring. Now, I spend two months in Phoenix with a personal trainer, then a month at the facility with Rogucki (strength coach), and then I’ll go back to Texas and work out with the San Antonio Spurs trainer for the last 4-5 weeks before camp so I am close to my parents and just back in Texas.
Where is the greatest state to live in?
Oh, you already know – TEXAS. But, the greatest state to have real estate in….Arizona.
Any place you’d really like to travel to?
I’d like to go overseas – probably some place like Italy or France.
What is your favorite television show?
There’s a lot of them. I could tell you one every night of the week.
Okay, well then tell me?
Oh man, alright, Monday… I usually rent a movie on Monday night. Tuesday was American Idol with Big Reuben. Wednesday night I like to watch reruns of Sanford and Son and also Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer. Thursday night, I usually am out and about. Friday is Fast Lane and basketball games and I’ll watch any type of sports on the weekends.
Even golf?
Oh no. Only if Tiger is playing, that’s the only way I’ll watch golf.
What is something most of your teammates don’t know about you?
Probably that I have a college degree and graduated with a 3.46.
Why, you think they don’t know you are smart?
No, they know what I have to offer upstairs. When players have questions on checks or something they’ll usually come ask me because I have been around a while and know the system. But it works both ways.
Your birthday is coming up, are you planning anything special?
Actually, it is really close to camp and so I don’t like to do too much. I’ll go down to New Orleans for the Essence weekend over the 4th of July, but that’s about it.
What is your least favorite part about training camp?
My least favorite part is the second day. The first day everyone is out there all excited and in full pads for the first practice. On the second practice, we just go in shoulder pads. But, the morning of the second day, your body is sore and you are thinking I have 16 or 17 more days of this and the meetings are REAL long. I’m used to it so it is just a countdown.
How long have you been playing football?
I was in 7th grade when I started playing.
Did you like it right away?
No, I was actually a four-sport athlete but I was real big on track. I went to Texas A&M I was a 175 pounds but then the freshman 15 hit and I went up to a 190 and that axed track out right there. I never thought I’d be a professional athlete, but I knew I’d always have a chance. When I transferred to Abilene Christian, I had two more years left in me and I wanted to have a chance to prove to myself and everyone else that I could play. I played cornerback my first year and was pretty good at it. My second year I played safety and when scouts started asking about me I knew I had a shot.
What has been your most memorable football moment so far?
It would definitely have to be my interception against the New York Giants last year. That play, it just gave me a lot of confidence. I try to replay that play in my head and I don’t know how I caught the ball. I see pictures and I think I just stuck out my left hand and caught it with one and brought it in. I actually didn’t think I could get to that ball. I was just reaching out and it was like God-given that it was supposed to be an interception. Then, everything in practice just took over. You catch the ball and you are running and you stay in bounds and the next thing you are thinking is don’t let the quarterback catch me. I knew my teammates would clown me if that were the case. I saw the quarterback coming and I thought this is for real so I dove into the endzone. I didn’t believe it was a touchdown. I was just begging for it. I didn’t have any celebration or anything. Still looking back, that was the play. In preseason a few years ago, I had a 100-yard interception returned against Seattle but it was against Glenn Foley and he threw 6 interceptions that game so it wasn’t that incredible.
What do you think the biggest misconception people have about NFL players?
That everyone is a millionaire. The league minimum this year was 225,000. It is good money, but not everyone is pulling in the big contracts you read about.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Outback Steakhouse, without a doubt. Crab legs, Tuwamba pasta. I am at Outback three or four times a week.
What would be your greatest achievement?
To be a good father.
Are you an impulse decision maker or do you tend to take a lot of time making decisions?
It depends on what it is. If its business, I like to take my time. If it is something like travel, I am more of an impulse decision maker.
What’s the hardest thing about playing your position?
I don’t think playing my position is really hard. The hardest thing about being an NFL player is that you have to prove yourself every time you step on the field. You have to prove yourself in training camp, then if you make the team, you have to prove yourself in practice and then on Sunday, you have to prove you can perform. The hardest thing about playing in the secondary is that we are more exposed. If the linebackers make a mistake, they have the secondary behind them. If a defensive lineman makes a mistake, they have the linebackers and the secondary behind them. A person in the secondary messes up, and we are vulnerable and very exposed. Everyone is going to see it.
Do you go anywhere without the other DB’s in tow?
Not too often. We are all good friends. Those are my boys and we hang around a lot.
How would you describe yourself?
I am easygoing, but I am sporadic. Sometimes I am moody, sometimes I am not. I like to call myself bi-polar. I am an easygoing cat, but if I am in one of my bad moods, I don’t like to be around myself.
Other Tuesday practice news....
Head Coach Dave McGinnis indicated that defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch may end up moving to the left side by the time training camp gets started.
"It is all the same techniques, everything is just mirrored," said Vanden Bosch. "You are doing everything the same but backwards. It is not a big adjustment. It just takes me getting used to a different place.
Also running back Emmitt Smith is not bothered that most of his starting blocking unit is sidelined right now due to injury.
"Right now, it is really trying to learn some of the stuff that we need to learn in terms of system to get prepared for training camp which is a little more than a month away," commented Smith. "You've got guys that are nursing injuries and coming back and recovering so it gives them a little longer to recover. Once you get to training camp that is when most of the work is going to be started and it is very important we have them in training camp more so than right now."
