Surround yourself with really good people. I think that's an important thing. Because the people you surround yourself are a reflection of you.
Authenticity is everything! You have to wake up every day and look in the mirror, and you want to be proud of the person who's looking back at you. And you can only do that if you're being honest with yourself and being a person of high character. You have an opportunity every single day to write that story of your life.
For me, it's always been about preparation, and the more prepared I can be each week, the less pressure I feel and the more confident I am. As your confidence grows, it's only natural that the pressure you feel diminishes.
The NCAA makes so much money off of their kids, and they put ridiculous - absolutely ridiculous - restrictions on everything that they can do.
Touch is more important than arm strength. You want to really allow the receiver to run underneath the throw. It'll give you a little margin for error if you undershoot it a bit.
That's what really motivates me: to make my coaches proud, my teammates proud, and the fans proud.
I want to be the best. I want to be counted on by my teammates. I want to be counted on by this organization and the fans. I want to be someone they know is going to bring it every single week. I prepare to be the best.
I went to University of Illinois team camp. And that was a big deal for me. I got MVP of the camp, but they offered another kid from the camp, which was fine. I laughed with the couple coaches I know who were there at the time, who were part of recruiting the other guy.
I think being recognized more is something you have to get used to, whether it's here or in California or when I'm traveling. It's more a part of my life. People recognize me from my play or a commercial I've done. It's just a normal part of life now.
I'm fulfilling my dreams that I had as a kid every single day.
There's always going to be silly stuff out there in the media that you can't worry too much about, and I don't. We just keep on trucking, and I like the way my... I think there should be 'professional is professional, and personal is personal,' and that's just how I'm going to keep it.
I think some people forget sometimes I do have to go to the grocery store; I do enjoy going out to dinner. I have to get my oil changed from time to time. I do all the normal things. I cut my grass. People kind of forget that normal part, that we do a lot of the stuff that everybody else does, but we all have our talents, and mine is in football.
The beautiful thing about the NFL season is to see a team come together after they get to know each other in the spring and summer. You then go through adversity together and see how you respond. The teams that can respond in a positive way are the teams that are going to be there in the end.