A Conversation with LaQuan McGowan

I recently had the opportunity to interview the one and only LaQuan McGowan who is currently preparing for the NFL draft. One word of note up front, since he is no longer a Baylor Scholarship athlete, he no longer has access to "free" housing/food/etc. and needs (and is now allowed to receive by NCAA rules) our help. If you haven't already, please take a moment to check out LaQuan's Go Fund Me page located at: gofundme.com/draftlaquan

This will help him with things like food, rent, etc. while he gives the NFL a shot. I also have information from a pretty good source (which should be obvious) about an exciting announcement about McGowan's future - so stay tuned.

Since I live in New York, and McGowan is in Waco, I gave him a call on Tuesday afternoon - here's a bit of our conversation.

What all are you doing to prepare for the draft? What does day to day look like for you right now?

I’m doing everything that I can so far. I wake up and do some cardio. After that I eat my breakfast at 8:00 am and then my snack is at around 10:30am. Then my lunch will be 1:30 pm and I do my training stuff between there.

I try to do a lot of my running in the mornings and then I’ll do my drills between 2:00-3:00 pm. It’s nothing too strenuous, nothing that is going to overdo it, but I'm working hard.

Is this different than the training regimen you had under Coach Kaz?

Yeah it is different because you don’t have anyone there to tell you what to do. You have to be your own CEO.

What was your favorite play in your career at Baylor?

Definitely the Cotton Bowl.

Had you processed before the play started that the ball was coming your way, and what that might mean for everyone watching and you playing?

I thought through that. I knew I had to get out and just run cause those little guys were going to be out to get me.

Does the constant talk about your size lead people to ignore your skill set?

Yes it does. I know for a fact it does. A lot of people are so caught up on oh ‘he’s so big’ that they forget to think about that ‘oh he’s so big but he can run. Oh he’s big but he’s keeping up with all these other smaller guys.’

When you were running sprints in practice did you ever give people a hard time for being behind you?

Yeah, oh yeah! I’ve beat some guys less than 300 pounds. I don’t give them too hard a time, but I have a few times (laughs).

What did you love most about being a student at Baylor?

The relationships I made over the years - just the friendships I’ve built. Even with people still on campus now, it’s great.

What position at the next level excites you the most?

I don’t see myself playing tight end in the NFL obviously. I’m not like Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham. I’m looking to play fullback or guard.

Favorite Waco hangout location?

Home.

What specifically are you working on now that you think people will be surprised by on your pro day?

I’m working on the 225 rep max. Working on my 40 time. I believe all of that will be impressive once that time comes. I’m also working on my flexibility - you know being big, having a big stature is good, but if you can’t really move with that bigness you won’t be as useful as you can be.

Who was the funniest teammate you had at Baylor and what individual opponent made you or the team laugh the most?

As far as teammates go, I’d probably have to say when Cyril Richardson was here he was very funny, very likable guy, I enjoyed being around Cyril. As far as individual opponent … there was a guy we played against at Texas Tech … I had gotten up the field to the second level and I had run over the linebacker and moved on to the safety and once I moved on to the safety, the play had just ended, like as I was getting to him the ref was blowing the whistle and I was stumbling forward and as I stumbled forward I hit the safety and he fell over. We watched that over and over and over and over in the film room.

If you had a hype video of just you pancaking people and scoring touchdowns, what song would you use?

HA! Yeah that one song from Furious 7? The one with Paul something .. the one that goes "it’s been a looong day without you my friend." Oh i would use that, that song.

Let’s say you go back in time and you never played football, what do you think you’d be doing right now?

I’d love to have a business. I’d love to be fishing or doing something like that.

Do you have anything you’d like to say to Baylor fans in general?

Yeah I just appreciate them following me, believing in me, and liking you know, who I am and how I’ve done my best to help Baylor. It's a great place.

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It is a great place LaQuan. Thanks for taking time out of your day to answer these questions and we all wish you the best of luck! And again, if you feel so inclined to help the biggest man ever on Baylor's campus, then head over to gofundme.com/draftlaquan and chip in!

Sic 'Em!