Former Wildcat Gronkowski returns to Tucson for spring game

Remember Rob Gronkowski? That big beast guy who scored a lot of touchdowns for Arizona in 2008, hurt his back in 2009 and went pro in 2010? The Patriots tight end scored 10 touchdowns in his first NFL season—a franchise record for all positions and just two scores behind football legend Mike Ditka in his first season.

Gronkowski is back in Tucson for today’s spring football game. I got the chance to catch up with him about life in the NFL, playing with Tom Brady and getting “Gronk’d.”

Sarah: Your first touchdown was also your first catch in the regular season. That must have been crazy. How was that moment for you?

Rob: Yeah, it was a pretty crazy moment, especially when your first catch of the NFL season is a touchdown. I mean, the emotions are just crazy. It was a lot of fun and I had a lot of adrenaline going. Couldn’t have had a better moment.

Sarah: If you compare the schedule and your stats, it seems like your production spiked after the Randy Moss trade. Did you feel any pressure, like, “OK, the team really needs me now”?

Rob: I didn’t feel pressure. We all do our own jobs on that team. Everyone has their own job and you just keep doing your own thing in practice, working hard. Keep studying, keep learning the playbook, and eventually turn it over to game time. No matter who’s on your team, you have to worry about your own job and help out the team.

Sarah: Speaking of the playbook, how many plays are in there?

Rob: I don’t know how many, but it’s a crazy amount. It took a while to learn the playbook. Pretty much all summer.

Sarah: Did you have a “welcome to the league” moment?

Rob: Oh yeah, definitely playing against people you always looked up to, especially in the preseason. The first time stepping up on the practice field is crazy. You’re all nervous and everything. I’m glad I’m past that point because it kind of distracts from your game a little bit. But once camp gets through and summer practices are done, it’s just playing football. But I definitely got the rookie haircut, which was a Mohawk, and I got some big hits on me in camp. It was cool, though.

Sarah: Who were some of those guys when you stepped out onto the field and went, “Woah, I’m playing this guy right now”?

Rob: The safeties for the Giants, the defensive ends for the Giants and just playing with the guys on your own team. It’s unbelievable.

Sarah: What is it like catching passes from a future Hall of Famer?

Rob: It’s cool. (Tom Brady) is a great quarterback and a great leader. It can’t get any better. Like you said, welcome to the league. I was out on the field for the first time with a quarterback—you know who—and it’s just like, “Man, am I really out here with him? ‘Cause I’ve been watching him play for, like, the last eight years of my life.” And now I’m out here like, “This ain’t right.” You get used to it, but at first it was unbelievable. It’s just an honor.

Sarah: Has he cut his hair yet?

Rob: (Laughs) I have no clue. I don’t think so.

Sarah: Can you pass it along from me to him, at least just a trim? Something?

Rob: (Laughs) All right, I will.

Sarah: I appreciate it. All right, so speaking of Hall of Famers: Bill Belichick. Has the man ever smiled in front of you?

Rob: A few times (laughs). Not that much, but a few times.

Sarah: How is it playing for him?

Rob: It’s cool. He’s one of the best coaches out there, if not the best. He knows his football and helps me out to get to my game.

Sarah: I saw on the NFL Network a couple weeks ago that you said this about him: “The better you’re doing, the worse you feel.” Can you please explain that?

Rob: You can have a really good game, but the next week you come in like you didn’t. It’s like, move on. You didn’t do anything last week. You haven’t done anything all year. It keeps your mind right that you want to get better every week. It’s nothing bad at all. It just keeps everyone level-headed, working hard and driving.

Sarah: Besides being on the NFL Network, what have you been up to since the end of the season?

Rob: Just working. Going to charity events up in Boston when I’m in town. Working out with my brothers. Hanging out with my family and friends. Just working.

Sarah: Spring football has begun at Arizona. Do you miss anything about playing here?

Rob: Oh yeah, definitely. I miss the whole University of Arizona. I miss all the coaches and teammates and everything. But I’ll be up there for the spring game and I’ll be reliving it then. It’ll be fun. Can’t wait to see everyone again.

Sarah: Which rivalry is more heated: UA-ASU or Patriots-Colts?

Rob: Oh man. Those are on two different levels. In college, that was a big rivalry for sure. But being on the NFL level now, I’d have to go with the Colts-Patriots. ASU-U of A is pretty big for college. But Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning—you can’t get any bigger than that.

Sarah: That’s what I was thinking. Can you just paint a picture of the difference between life as a college player at Arizona and life as a pro with one of the biggest and best franchises in the NFL? On a daily basis, how is your life different?

Rob: It’s a lot different. Like in the offseason, you have all this free time to do whatever and you don’t have school. But in college, you have school and not much free time in the offseason. During the season you’d be going to school and going to football practice. Here, it’s just like football practice is your school. You’re here for nine hours a day.

Sarah: How is that, by the way? How does your body respond to the all-day practices?

Rob: You just get used to it (laughs).

Sarah: So, on your web site (www.gronknation.com), it says “Get Gronk’d” pretty much everywhere. What exactly does it mean to “Get Gronk’d”?

Rob: It can mean a lot of things. Get hyped; make a big play or something. Or if my brothers and I make a play on someone, they just got Gronk’d. Big plays, getting hyped, cool things like that and more.

Sarah: Are there any guys on your team or in the league that you’d consider to be your mentor?

Rob: (Patriots tight end) Alge Crumpler. He’s just a great veteran. He’s one of the better tight ends on the team and knows the game so well. He knows how to get it done.

Sarah: Can you pinpoint a single moment of your rookie season that you think was the best moment of the year?

Rob: Just winning and having a great regular season; being able to play football again because I took off a year before that.

Sarah: We already established that you had an awesome first season. What are you doing to top that next year?

Rob: Working hard. Studying.
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Gronkowski will join recent Wildcat greats Antoine Cason, Mike Thomas, Eben Britton and others to sign autographs at 12:30 p.m. on the McKale Lawn. The spring game starts at 1:30 p.m.