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Steve Martin interviews Andy Studebaker
Interviewed on: Thursday, May 17th, 2007 Steve Martin: Hi Andy. Good to talk with you. I am one of the few people nationally who actually knows quite a lot about Wheaton College. I actually considered going there myself way back... Andy Studebaker: Oh really? SM: Yes. I went to Grace College in Indiana instead, but I am very familiar with Wheaton... AS: Wow, that's cool.
SM: What conference are you guys in? AS: We are in the C.C.I.W.--It's basically a conference for schools in Illinois and Wisconsin. SM: So you guys don't play colleges over in Indiana then, huh? AS: We scrimmage Wabash sometimes. SM: OK...let's start by having you give me a real conservative height and weight on yourself. AS: OK. I am exactly 6'3", and I weight 255. SM: And do you have any idea how fast you are in the forty? AS: Yes. I actually rans a 4.51 for a pro scout not to long ago. I slipped on the second one, but ran a 4.58. SM: Do you know which team the scout was from? AS: Actually no. I never found that out. I don't know if he was even with a specific team or not. SM: Yea. He could be with one of the scouting pools like BLESTO or National Football Scouting....anyway, congratulations. Those are absolutely outstanding numbers for a guy your size! Do you know how many bench reps you can do? AS: I am not sure, because we don't really workout that way. But, I would guess probably in the mid 20s. SM: What is your bench max? AS: 410. SM: Nice. And your power clean? AS: 400. SM: What is your squat? AS: 615. SM: Outstanding. Do you have any idea what your vertical might be? AS: No, I really don't, but I was a high jumper in high school so I think it's probably pretty good. SM: Oh really? What was your best mark as a high jumper? AS: it was during my junior year at the all-state meets. I went for 6'7". SM: Very nice. So what was the winning jump there? AS: 6'11". SM: Wow. So...tell me about your family. What are your mom and dad's names, Andy? AS: My dad is Ken and my mom is Jane. SM: Are they both still working? AS: Yes. My dad works for State Farm Insurance, and my mom works as a registered nurse. SM: And I know you have a brother who plays with you at Wheaton... AS: ...no, Dan, actually just graduated. SM: What position was he? AS: He was a defensive tackle. SM: So you guys actually played side-by-side? AS: Yes. That was neat. SM: I don't think I've ever heard that before. That is neat....Do you have any other brothers or sisters? AS: Yes. I have any older brother Ben, and two sisters...Becky and Rachael. SM: Where were you born? AS: Peoria, Illinois. SM: No kidding! I have a good buddy from high school lives in Peoria...how long did you live there? AS: That's where we still live...I've lived in the same home my entire life. SM: That's cool. Kind of rare these days though...When did you first start playing organized football? AS: Not until 9th grade. SM: Wow, really? You know what that means, right...."upside." AS: (laughing) Maybe...I hope that people may say that. SM: Did you play any other sports growing up? AS: I played little league baseball from when I was real young, and I played basketball from 3rd grade on. SM: Where did you attend high school, Andy? AS: Eureka High School in Eureka, IL. SM: How big a school is that? AS: It's about 500 students. SM: What classification is that? AS: 3A. SM: Is Eureka actually your hometown then? AS: No, I live in a small suburb of Peoria called Conferville...we only have 400 people in the whole town. SM: (laughing) Well there is only 250 in my hometown here in northern Maine, so I know what that is like...How many towns fed into Eureka High? AS: Just three. SM: When you started playing football in 9th grade, were you on the freshman team or the JV team? AS: I was on the freshman team. I played strong safety and 3rd-string quarterback. I played quite a bit on defense, but I was obviously not very good. SM: Well, you had never played the sport, so that's to be expected I suppose. What happened the next year? AS: I was a varsity swinger, but I played mostly on JV as a defensive end and linebacker. I also played a little bit of tight end that year. SM: I assume you started varsity the next two years? AS: Right. SM: What postitions? AS: I was a starting defensive end my junior year. I was also listed as a tight end, but I never played. During my senior year I was he starter at both DE and TE though, and I did pretty well. SM: Do you remember any of your high school stats? AS: No, not really. I do remember that we were pretty much a running team, but I would get the ball thrown to me a lot on 3rd and 5 situations. SM: Do you remember if you earned any all-conference honors, or anything like that while you were in high school? AS: Yes. I was a first-team all-conference defensive end for both my junior and senior years, and a first-team tight end my senior year. SM: How did your teams do while you were in high school? AS: We went 7-2 my junior year and 5-5 my senior year. SM: Did you make the playoffs your junior year? AS: Yes we did, but we got knocked off in the first round on a failed 4th-and-one try. SM: Did you hear from a lot of colleges? AS: Just division III schools like Illinois Wesleyan, Augustana... SM: Did you visit any of those other schools? AS: Yes. I went on an overnight visit to Wesleyan, and visited Augustana on a day trip. But, Wheaton was just right for me...I just fit better there, and the coaches were awesome. SM: Was the particular religious outlook an import part of your decision? AS: Oh yes. Definitely. SM: What denomination were you raised in? AS: Just a non-denominational church, but Wheaton just fit me better in terms of my beliefs. SM: How big a school is Wheaton these days? AS: We have about 2300 students. SM: What year were you a freshman there? AS: 2004. SM: Did you ever redshirt? AS: No. I was on the scout team my freshman year because I cam in at only 215 pounds. SM: Wow! How did you get so big the last couple of years? AS: Well, I had never been on a weight training program, and when I got here they just taught me how to eat right, and how to life right...I went to 235 by my sophomore year. SM: That's awesome. You know you have really put up some amazing numbers the past two years--I mean 44 TFLs...25 sacks...How do you do it? What are your unique positive features that have allowed you to do that? AS: I would say just my quickness off the ball. I have a pretty good spin move. I just get up the field on the speed ruch and dip under... SM: What are you still working on to get better at? AS: Staying low....reacting to the ball...play recognition. SM: All that comes with experience, and you are still relatively new to the sport...Where would you rank football in terms of your overall life priorities? AS: Well, I start with my faith. That helps to put everything else back into the right perspective. Then I would say education and football are pretty much tied....Oh, wait...no family is definitely before education... SM: Have you thought much about playing football at the next level? AS: I never really used to much, but when that scout came, and now this...I can definitely say it is a goal of mine now. SM: Are you one of these guys who sets personal goals for himself in terms of numbers coming into a season? AS: No, not really. Our defensive coordinator came to me after my sophomore season and we had a good heart-to-heart about goals and goal setting. We pretty well determined that thinking about All American teams or getting a certain number of this or that was nowhere as important as just doing everything possible to be the best player I can be. That really hit home with me. SM: What's your major, Andy? AS: Applied Heath Sciences...It's kind of like pre-physical therapy. I also have a Spanish minor. SM: When are you scheduled to graduate? AS: Either this fall, or next spring. SM: What is your overall GPA? AS: 3.0 SM: Man that's awesome. I don't know how you guys balance everything with football and classes and still pull off good grades like that. It's just amazing! AS: Thank you. I work hard at it. SM: So, what would you do with your degree if football doesn't pan out? AS: I'm not sure really. I might go to grad school...I might become a trainer, or a PE teacher, or go into coaching. There are so many different directions you can go in off of this degree. SM: Well Andy, it's been great getting to know you a little bit here. I really appreciate your time, and I wish you all the best this fall and going forward. AS: Thank you so much. |