Player Profile: Mike Paulus

Photo Courtesy of William and Mary Sports Information

Mike Paulus transferred to William and Mary from the University of North Carolina. He is competing for our starting quarterback job this season, and there has been a lot of buzz around campus about our new transfer. Now, The Tribal Fever kicks off what we hope to be an exciting series of Player Profiles with an exclusive Paulus interview!

Tyler Vuxta: How do you like W&M/How does it compare to UNC?

Mike Paulus: Simply put, I like it here a lot. I think W&M is a really good fit for my personality. It puts me around people who are similar to me as far as goals and values, and those are the types of people I really enjoy to be with. It is a lot smaller than UNC, by about 20,000 students, so classes here are a lot smaller and that’s a big difference. Football wise, obviously UNC has a lot more money to put into their program, so they have bigger facilities and all that, but to be honest, the facilities and support for the football program here has really blown me away. I really enjoy showing up to campus and the Laycock Center every day, so overall I have had a great experience thus far.

TV: How good could our team be for the 2010 season?

MP: First off, I think last year’s team was very, very good. There are some big shoes to fill both offensively and defensively, and we are working extremely hard to fill them. Guys are taking spring ball very seriously and want to build upon last year’s great season. As a part of the offense, we are working on replacing a very good quarterback (R.J. Archer) and some offensive lineman. Obviously we have some of the best running backs in 1-AA with Jonathon Grimes and Courtland Mariner. I haven’t been here in springs past but R.J. Archer had told me this is the best he’s seen the offense in spring ball in his 5 years here, so I think we are headed in the right direction, but there’s always more work to do. I think if we just keep working hard and taking care of the little things, the season will take care of itself.

TV: What are some aspects of playing college football that non-athletes are not aware of?

MP: I think the biggest thing that goes unnoticed by outsiders is the amount of work that football requires. It is an extremely time consuming sport and is non-stop all year round. If you want to be great, you have to put in even more extra work, and it requires sacrificing your personal time. It’s not just working out to be in tip top physical shape, but also studying film and being on the ball mentally. Football is like a chess match and you have to be extremely well prepared in order to go out there and win games. It’s not just showing up on Saturdays and winning, the game is won Monday through Friday through preparation.

TV: How would you describe Coach Laycock?

MP: As everybody already knows, Coach Laycock is a great coach. He knows the game and does a great job producing quarterbacks. He is a very demanding coach because he expects a lot out of his players. Being new here, I didn’t know much about his coaching style until practice started in March. He is very hands on with his quarterbacks and wants to make sure we have every detail right on everything we do. I personally have learned so much from him already and really feel like he’s going to get the best out of me. He knows how to coach me up so I can make corrections and I really feel good about his ability to develop me as a player. I think he is exactly what I need in order to take that next step to becoming a better quarterback.

TV: Are there any funny stories involving other players, coaches, campus life in general you would like to share?

MP: All the guys on the team have been really cool as far as helping me out with classes, workouts, and pretty much anything I need. They have also been very nice with putting on a few pranks every now and then. For example, we run and work out as a team in the afternoons and then we come into the locker room and everyone gets their stuff together to leave. After one of the running sessions, I opened my locker and nothing in it was mine. My Ipod, phone, car keys, clothes, shoes, everything was gone, and some random persons stuff was in there. After a little bit of investigating, I learned that Wes Steinman had switched all my stuff with Nolan Kearney’s, so my stuff was all in Nolan’s locker.

Most recently, I was victim of another prank. I had dropped my car keys by accident when I was going to class and didn’t notice. When I got back to my car it wasn’t where I had parked it. Once again, I had to investigate, and learned that Chris Sutton had found my car keys and moved my car as a prank to scare me.

All in all the guys have been really nice and it’s been a lot of fun. I have a lot of fun with them, and once I’m here a little longer, they’ll start being on the receiving end of some of my own pranks. (End)

There you have it, our first player profile. I don’t know about everyone else, but I am excited to root for Mike and the rest of our football team this fall as we work towards another great season!