NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Shane Ratkovich, LB, Southwest Minnesota State University
- Name: Shane Ratkovich
- Height: 6”1
- Weight:237
- Position: Mike linebacker
- College: Southwest Minnesota State
- Twitter:@shaeratkovich
Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?
- The thing I love most about my hometown is the restaurant Northwoods, they have really good food.
List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?
- Strength and conditioning come first, without this you will not be able to make plays. Then practice to master that week’s game plan and be ready to play. Last film study because you can watch the film at any time or the day and anywhere.
What do you worry about, and why?
- I worry about my family because I am a family man and that should be the number one thing you care about.
Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?
- Our of high-school I did not have an offer because of grades. So I went to the College of DuPage, put my mind to both school and Football. I graduated with my associate’s degree in liberal arts with a 3.6 GPA.
What do your teammates say is your best quality?
- My teammates say I am very hard working both on and off of the field.
Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?
- Max Mickey from the University of Sioux Falls.
What would your career be if you couldn’t play football?
- I would love to be a physical trainer.
Room, desk, and car – which do you clean first?
- Room first, then the desk, the car.
If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?
- I would save my family member so I could have help saving the three strangers.
If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?
- Bruce Willis because nobody can kill him, even in all of the die hard movies. He also always seems to save people and is a family man.
Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?
- I would say my parents going through a bad divorce. The way I deal with it is lifting weights and Football.
What is your most embarrassing moment?
- I ripped my pants at recess in the third-grade playing dodgeball.
What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?
- The last play of my collegiate career, it made me think of all that I have accomplished and have yet to accomplish.
What song best describes your work ethic?
- Phenomenal by Eminem
What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level?
- I would say that I am extremely strong.
If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?
- My grandma Linda because she is one of the nicest people I’ve met. It would be amazing just to spend one more day with her.
If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it?
- Papa Shane’s
Who is the most overrated player in the NFL?
- Odell Beckham
Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?
- Respected because it is something that is earned.
What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?
- James Connor because cancer is a terrible thing and is something that you cannot control. Be he has beaten it and now is a great player in the NFL.
Do you love to win, or hate to lose?
- Hate to lose, any good player you talk to hates to lose.
Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?
- My cousin Andrew because he has always been there for me and is the one who got my brother an I involved in Football.
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com