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Player Interview with Andrew Sweat – ESPN/Under Armour All-American Practices
Jason Pughe
Updated January 14, 2008...
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During the ESPN/Under Armour All-American practices, I had the chance to interview Ohio State LB commit Andrew Sweat. Sweat said of the experience, “It’s awesome; it is fun to play with all of these players.” Throughout the week of practices, Sweat really stood out; so much so that even teammates like Jamie Harper praised him.
“You just have to learn quickly when you don’t have time to work out”, Sweat remarked about this week. “You learn the speed of the game. All of these guys are All-Americans, that’s why they are here, they are good. It’s a lot faster; you have to make your reads faster, shed blocks faster, it’s just another level up.” Sweat was really taking the experience in and during the practices; he was always asking questions and looking for ways to improve his game.
Early in the recruiting process, Sweat chose the Ohio State Buckeyes. Sweat said, “I’m really excited about Ohio State from the social aspect, the athletic aspect, and the academic side as well. I just fell in love there. Hopefully James Laurinaitis can stay another year, so I can learn from him.”
Throughout the week Andrew spent a lot of time with Oklahoma commit Daniel Franklin, and USC commit Blake Ayles. Sweat said, “We go everywhere together, it’s been fun.” When I asked him who he modeled his game after he replied, “I try to model my game after Laurinaitis and A.J. Hawk. I try to be a seek and destroy type, that’s what I think they do.”
What impressed me the most about Sweat wasn’t so much his play, but the fact that he was constantly looking for ways to get better. Sweat this fall will look to learn from Laurinaitis and become another dominant LB for the Buckeyes. Who knows, maybe Sweat can continue the tradition of playing in the national title game on a yearly basis as well.