NFL Combine: Lucien Antoine interview
Oklahoma State safety Lucien Antoine, who lived in Haiti until he was 16, is projected as a late-round pick in the NFL Draft. He spoke with the media Sunday at the combine.
What are your Combine goals?
“It’s a blessing. I’m the type of player who brings a physical aspect, I play with passion, I try my best to help the team win.”
What do teams want to see out of you?
“People want to see how fast I run.” (Antoine suffered a major knee injury in 2008 that knocked him out of 10 games.)
What family do you still have in Haiti?
“One of my uncles lives in Port au Prince; he has six kids. We found out he’s OK. His kids are all alive. His house got destroyed (by the earthquake). My mom talked to him. He’s just waiting for help like everybody else in Port au Prince.”
How do the reports from Haiti make you feel?
“It really tears me up (seeing TV reports and images). That’s something I have to put behind me. You don’t get this opportunity every year. I really want to be successful. I try my best whenever I have money to send it to them through my mom in Port St. Lucie, Fla.”
Can you help by making money in football?
“That’s always been my goal and always to help not only my family, but people in Haiti.”
Do you ever find your mind drifting?
“I do a good job of staying focused, but at the same time, I’m still thinking about it every time it comes up on the news.”
You’re known as a hitter?
“One of the reasons I play the game is to hit people, and because I love the game. My nickname, the Punisher, the coaches gave me that. I first played football in 2005, my first day to practice and I hit somebody, I was like, ‘Man, it was fun.’ And it’s a man’s sports. When I keep learning about it, I like the challenge of it and the discipline of training for it.”
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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