Spring Break
The Daily OrangeQ & A with Ryan Howard
By Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 9/4/08, 11:40 PM EST Section: Sports
Ryan Howard, the senior punt returner/defensive back, took a few minutes to talk to The Daily Orange about everything from his thoughts as a punt is in the air to why Kobe Bryant is his athletic idol.
On what it takes to be a good punt returner: "Quickness, vision, good judgment, smarts. All that kind of goes into it."
On what he's thinking about when the ball is in the air: "How close the gunners are. Where the gunners are, where the ball's at - I don't really have time to think about anything else."
On which NFL punt returner he tries to resemble most: "I don't really know. I've kind of got my own style."
On if returning punts is scary for him: "It's not really scary, you've just got to know what you're doing. You've got to be smart about it. It's not scary at all."
On being a Los Angeles Lakers fan: "They've been my team since I was a little kid."
On why he likes Bryant: "He's a competitor. He's got all the physical talent, he's got all that stuff, but he's a competitor. He always wants the challenge, he always takes the challenge. That's what I respect about him most."
On why high ticket prices don't allow him to get to many Lakers games: "Between that, food and parking, it's just better to watch it on TV."
On who'd be a better football player - Bryant or LeBron James: "LeBron's got a better football body. From an athlete's perspective, LeBron is just picture perfect."
On the toughest Syracuse receiver to cover: "Bruce (Williams). Bruce uses his body real well. He's strong. He doesn't need a lot of separation to catch the ball."
On what makes Williams frustrating for him: "I'm kind of quick so quickness doesn't really bother me. But somebody like Bruce is tough because you can be right on him and he still finds a way to catch the ball because of the way he uses his body. And he's so strong once he catches it, it's kind of hard to knock it out of his hands."
On why he doesn't play fantasy football: "I'm more of a realist (laughs). It takes too much time. I've been hearing of people needing to check that stuff too much. Too much research, got to change the lineups and all that. I don't have time for all that."
On whether he's ever been mistaken for the Philadelphia Phillies' slugger: "(Laughs) Naw. He's too tall."
zsschonb@syr.edu
On what it takes to be a good punt returner: "Quickness, vision, good judgment, smarts. All that kind of goes into it."
On what he's thinking about when the ball is in the air: "How close the gunners are. Where the gunners are, where the ball's at - I don't really have time to think about anything else."
On which NFL punt returner he tries to resemble most: "I don't really know. I've kind of got my own style."
On if returning punts is scary for him: "It's not really scary, you've just got to know what you're doing. You've got to be smart about it. It's not scary at all."
On being a Los Angeles Lakers fan: "They've been my team since I was a little kid."
On why he likes Bryant: "He's a competitor. He's got all the physical talent, he's got all that stuff, but he's a competitor. He always wants the challenge, he always takes the challenge. That's what I respect about him most."
On why high ticket prices don't allow him to get to many Lakers games: "Between that, food and parking, it's just better to watch it on TV."
On who'd be a better football player - Bryant or LeBron James: "LeBron's got a better football body. From an athlete's perspective, LeBron is just picture perfect."
On the toughest Syracuse receiver to cover: "Bruce (Williams). Bruce uses his body real well. He's strong. He doesn't need a lot of separation to catch the ball."
On what makes Williams frustrating for him: "I'm kind of quick so quickness doesn't really bother me. But somebody like Bruce is tough because you can be right on him and he still finds a way to catch the ball because of the way he uses his body. And he's so strong once he catches it, it's kind of hard to knock it out of his hands."
On why he doesn't play fantasy football: "I'm more of a realist (laughs). It takes too much time. I've been hearing of people needing to check that stuff too much. Too much research, got to change the lineups and all that. I don't have time for all that."
On whether he's ever been mistaken for the Philadelphia Phillies' slugger: "(Laughs) Naw. He's too tall."
zsschonb@syr.edu
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