Football requires more commitment than most varsity sports. What is your least favorite off-season training?

Dan Weintraub: To start out, the out-of-season 7 a.m. running on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s just a quick hour-long running workout, but it is pretty rough. Clay Eaton: It’s just the fact that we train so much for only 10 games; it’s pretty ridiculous, but yeah, I hate those morning runs too. DW: This year we did it with the soccer team though, so that made it more fun, and they pushed us.

Which team was in better shape?

DW: Well, the soccer team was probably in better shape actually. CE: Yeah, they have the lungs.

Do you have a favorite part of training?

CE: The pool workouts. DW: Yeah, it used to be awesome; then we could just play around and synchronize swim and stuff after. CE: But then they got rid of pool workouts.

There are a lot of things changing in the Athletics department. How do you think the football program has changed since your freshman year?

CE: I actually don’t think it’s changed all that much. DW: I think the big changes happened when Coach Ramsey came in. Before him, the program was just terrible, but he really turned things around. I respect him a lot for the way he runs things. CE: Yeah, he’s been here a while and kept the program consistent. I’ve talked to a lot of friends on other teams, and it seems like they have new coaches all the time. We’re lucky.

What do you think is the biggest lesson you’ve gotten out of football?

CE: I’ve thought about this before actually. It’s teamwork. There is nothing like seeing the product of 11 guys working. DW: Football’s made me a much more disciplined person. During the season, you don’t have a lot of free time, so you have to learn to manage your time efficiently. During those rare free periods you might have, you’d better be productive. If you’re not, then you’re bound to pay for it with a late night of studying.

And what do you think is your biggest accomplishment?

CE: Just being able to play all four years. I didn’t know what to expect when I got here, and being able to get reps was awesome. DW: Well yeah, and all the records you’ve broken. CE: Yeah, settle down, bud. DW: For me, I came in pretty small, and I wasn’t all that athletic. I guess my biggest accomplishment is that I was able to improve enough through practice and through off-season training to be able to contribute on Saturdays.

Football sometimes gets a bad rap at Oberlin. Do you think that takes away from your experience at all?

DW: It used to be a lot worse when I was a freshman. That was five years ago now, so it’s been a while. I think a lot of the negative attitude has gone away. CE: Yeah, I don’t think it’s really that bad. It’s never bothered me.

If you could change one thing about Oberlin football what would it be?

CE: Nothing. Well, actually, bring back the pool workouts. DW: I wouldn’t really change anything either. It’s been a great time.

It sounds like you have a lot of fun. What’s your favorite football memory?

CE: Any skit night. We can’t really tell you much about it, but it’s a good time. DW: Yeah, it’s at the end of the season, and we skip meetings. People do songs and dances and stuff. But my other favorite memory is the Kenyon game last year. It was our first game of the season, and we’d had a particularly grueling camp that August. We ended up shutting Kenyon out while putting up 42 points offensively. I think that game really spoke to the character of our team, and it set the tone for the rest of that season.