The Aggie Pack sat down with Ryan Sharp in early July to get the inside scoop on this Aggie.
What did you eat for breakfast today?
This morning I had 2 packets of oatmeal, a banana, 5 eggs and orange juice.
What is your favorite part of Davis, outside of football?
The food. There are so many good places to eat here. I really like the all you can eat buffets and there is great mexican food around here.
What do you do for fun?
I like to spend time with my dogs.
What kind of dogs do you have?
2 English Bull dogs.
What are there names?
Cuda and Dozer.
Have you had them for a while?
Yeah, Cuda is 2 years old. He tore up my hand when I first got him, he looks like a freakin shark. That's why he is named Cuda, like a Barracuda. Dozer is 1 and a half. They are great dogs.
What is your proudest moment as an Aggie?
Last year, when we beat Sac State at home. That was my first time beating Sac State, and I really got a good appreciation the tradition behind the Causeway Classic.
What is your favorite team to play against?
Its hard to say. Every team that we play, we prepare a differently for. A game like Sac State, we know that they will do whatever it takes to win. They will pull out trick plays and just about anything else to try to beat us. To win a game like that, we have to prepare for anything and everything.
Its also awesome to match up with a team like New Hampshire or Stanford. You know a team like that has a great national reputation and it will probably be a great football game.
Talk about the rivalry with Cal Poly and The Battle for the Golden Horseshoe?
That game last year was probably more important to us than the Sac State game because Cal Poly is in our conference, the Great West. Going into that game, if we beat them, we would have a chance to win the conference but if we didn't win that game, they would probably win the conference. Also, they were ranked very high nationally at the time. It was a great victory for us and at the time clinched our 35th consecutive winning season.
Neither UC Davis nor Cal Poly has won a home game against each other in the past 5 years... Do you think the Cal Poly rivalry is bigger than the Causeway Classic?
Right now I think the Sac State is a bigger rival just because they are closer in location, but I could see the rivalry really growing with Cal Poly. They are in our conference and we play them in a lot of other sports as well. But right now Sac State is still our biggest rival.
How has the D-1 move affected you as an athlete, how has it affected your team?
I came in during the move to D-1, so I don't really know what it was like playing a D-2 schedule, but I know that we are getting a lot better players coming in to this school due to the better schedule. We are playing some great teams this year. Altogether, we are really starting to make some progress and that is great to see.
How has being a captain changed your outlook on the team/ role on the team?
I feel a lot more responsibility. I make sure everyone is prepared for the games. We have had a great turn out during the summer and I think it will pay off when we start playing games in the fall. I like to lead by example, not by talk.
How much do you bench?
395 lbs. - last spring testing
Who on your team eats the most?
Matt Ngwun - I watched him eat a super giant and a half... One and a half super giants! It was ridiculous.
What do you think about the new stadium?
Its good. It moves the program in the right direction. It legitimizes what we are trying to do at UC Davis.
What does the Aggie Pack add to your experience as a student athlete?
The Aggie Pack holds us together. There is so much support from the Aggie Pack and all the players really appreciate it. The Aggie Pack brings a lot of people to games who might not normally just come to a game. The energy we feel from the Aggie Pack really picks us up when we need it most.
What are you plans after school?
I would love to play in the NFL. It's not something I am leaning on however. I would also love to work in Sports Marketing. I have an internship right now with the UC Davis Athletics and the Sports Marketing Department. We work on signing deals with corporate partners to raise money for scholarships. It is a field I really enjoy working in and I hope that it will lead to something in my future.
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