2024 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Jaiveon Gardner, DT, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

• Name: Jaiveon Gardner
• Position: Defensive tackle 
• College: Southeastern Oklahoma State University 
• Height: 6’3
• Weight: 275
• Twitter: sappp_91
• Instagram: sappp_90

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2024 NFL Draft?

Good run stopper, can get off blocks, and very athletic can make plays run or pass

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

When I was 10

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

Great person on and off the field

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be?

Cancer 

What is the best advice you have ever received?

Always be yourself and be disciplined 

Who was your childhood hero?

My parents 

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school?

Kevin Sims 

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Not telling me the truth

Who is your favorite teacher ever?

Mrs. Stella Williams

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome?

Watching my grandad pass away and how it affected my family and me and having to push day to day while having that on our minds

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

My school means everything to me, a school that took a chance on me and waited on me when I had to be back home in Florida to help take care of my grandad 

If you could have any franchise restaurant in your house what would it be?

Canes, or Red Robin’s 

What is your favorite snack food?  

Hi-chew candy

What is your degree in?

Liberal arts and applied studies 

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say?  

Most down to earth and funny teammate and person you would ever meet 

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be?  

Dexter Lawrence  

What is your favorite game to play at the carnival/theme park?

Baseball throw

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Kobe Bryant, Aaron Donald, and Warren Sapp, because I want to know what it takes to be a top-notch professional athlete and defensive lineman.