Bengals Line Presented by Bud Light is recorded live every Monday night from 6-9 p.m. at the Holy Grail Banks.
Jordan Willis joined hosts Dave Lapham and Lance McAlister this week.
Here are some highlights:
On being one of 11 children…
"It could be fun at times and it also could be difficult. Obviously you have to learn to share a lot of stuff. We would take up the attic space for rooms and then the basement as well, so it was a full house and trying to get used to sharing stuff and learning to work together on a lot of different things."
On preparing to play in the NFL…
"I've had the opportunity to be around a couple NFL guys that kind of trained me. One in Will Shields and Mark Simoneau. Two very good football players and they kind of gave me a sense of what the NFL was going to be like. And then I spoke to some former K-State football players in Jordy Nelson and Tyler Lockett and kind of asked them what it was going to be like, so I kind of had an idea of what to kind of expect. Something that I immediately noticed different from college to the NFL is obviously guys are more technique sound. In my opinion, it's not so much the game is faster so much as guys are more technique savvy. So you've got to be ready when you come off the snap to be able to defend whatever they're going to be able to do and of course react and attack when it's necessary."
On getting playing time as a rookie…
"I really like the situation that I'm in. I've been fortunate enough here that our D-line coach rotates us and makes sure everybody gets a shot to play. I'm averaging about 15 or more snaps a game, so that's good for me to get out there and get some experience. And then when I'm in there, try to make an impact for the team. And then continue to build trust with the guys on the defense so that they know that when I'm in there that there won't be a lapse from when the starters are in there."
On playing in the first preseason game…
"It boosted my confidence because the ones were in there for only the first series. They had about five plays and then out of nowhere, my coach is like you're going in. We did not discuss that, so I had to change my demeanor really quickly and get ready to go in there. And they had their ones in the game. So when I did that first snap, all I remember is I'm just like I'm going to come off the ball as hard as I can, take my power steps, strike them and it was a good first snap. I always laugh because my first college snap I was slow off the ball, I didn't look too good. But my first NFL snap was a heck of a lot better than my first college snap."
On waiting to be drafted…
"It felt like it took forever. And it's kind of annoying that the first round is the first night and then they cut it off. But you've got all of this pent up emotion and you're trying to go to sleep and you've got to wait until like 7 o'clock the next day. It was kind of nerve-wracking. I still remember the night I was drafted. I did not expect Cincinnati. I had never spoken to anybody from Cincinnati. And then you've got all these plans based off of who you've spoken to, who you visited, all that kind of stuff. When Marvin called me, I was kind of in sleep mode because I'm waiting and the phone was right there and I'm lying in my bed. Then I answer it and it's Marvin Lewis. And I didn't register it for about five minutes. Then it kind of registered that I'm being drafted and it's Marvin Lewis from the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a fun experience though."
