Nov. 16, 2004
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior wide receiver J.J. Outlaw is enjoying another stellar season for the Wildcats in 2004. Through the team's first 10 games, Outlaw has caught seven touchdown receptions and rushed for two more. He has also taken nearly every punt return and is second on the squad in kickoff returns. Outlaw leads Villanova in all-purpose yards with 1,171. He recently sat down to answer questions about the season, his career at Villanova and why he chose to play football and not basketball in college.
Q: You have really stepped up your level of play over the last five weeks. What has been the difference for you during the second half of the season?
JJ: The difference for me has been just having more of a focus on each game, and a better understanding of what the opposing team is trying to do defensively, and why they are trying to do it. I have to credit the offense in general, though. The offense has been playing better and I am a product of that. What you see me do in a game is the end product of what we put together during the week in practice.
Q: In your career you have done it all for Villanova: rushing, receiving, and returning. Which do you like best, and why?
JJ: I would have to say that receiving is what I like to do best, but punt returns and kickoff returns are something that not everybody can do. I take pride in being a fairly good specialist because not everyone can field punts, and it is something that is hard for me to do also. As far as running the ball, my dad always told me that you can be around a lot longer if you learn to do more things. I think the more you can do, the more valuable you are to a team, so being able to do all three things and help contribute, as well as be a threat to opposing teams in any way possible is what I like to do. I don't consider myself to be a receiver or an all-purpose player, I am just an athlete.
Q: You have almost completed your third year at Villanova. Talk a little bit about your career so far. What are your goals for the rest of your career at Villanova, and afterwards?
JJ: My biggest goal is to get to the postseason, and then to be able to complete the postseason and win a national championship. It's something we work for every year and I have one more year to do that. Hopefully I will be able to play after college at the professional level, but if not, I cherish the experience of being able to play football since I was a young boy. Being able to play at Villanova just caps off that experience.
Q: In your Villanova career is there a particular game that stands out as being the most memorable to you? Why?
JJ: Personally, there are three games that stick out in my career. The first game of my sophomore year we played Hampton and I got my first collegiate touchdown. Then against Temple in my sophomore year I had my first game with over 100 yards receiving. It was unbelievable to be able to accomplish that on such a big stage [playing at Lincoln Financial Field]. Then this season, unfortunately it came in a loss, but against Northeastern I had two touchdowns in a game for the first time.
Q: Since you room with quarterback Marvin Burroughs, you have probably seen his progression this year from a closer viewpoint than anyone else. How far has Marvin come this season in developing as a big-time quarterback?
JJ: It's unbelievable to see the way that Marvin works now that he is in a starting role, and to see the way he prepares mentally for a game. It gives me a lot more confidence lining up on the field. As a receiver you try not to feed into things like that. No matter who the quarterback is you still have to go out and play your game. But when the coaches decided Marvin would be the starter, it gave me confidence that on game day the offense would be able to click. Marvin has developed great chemistry with the receivers.
Q: Your dad played for a longtime in the NFL and was later an NBA assistant coach. What was it like to grow up in such a big sports family?
JJ: I think that growing up I got another look at professional sports than most kids did. Other kids saw sports on TV or read about it, but it was part of my life every day to go and hang around professional athletes. I was mostly around basketball players because my dad was coaching in the NBA. Then through his connections I was able to meet professional football players and be around professional football. That probably kept me going and was my motivation to continue working hard. Some people could get the impression that I was spoiled growing up and was given everything, but I saw how hard these players worked and how hard I would have to work to get there. People say that I'm small, but if you work hard and do what you do to the best of your abilities then you can overcome the height issue and go out and just work on your game.
Q: In high school you were a standout player in both football and basketball. What made you decide to play college football? Do you have a preference between the two sports?
JJ: Like a lot of football players, I can tell you that basketball is my first love. I'll pick up a basketball at any point in time, and I love to go shoot or go out and play pick up games. But I figured that I would get further in life in my sports goals being a 5-foot-9 slot receiver, punt returner and also running back than as a 5-9 point guard in a Division I mid-major program. I knew I could always play football and find a pick up basketball game rather than play basketball and find a pickup football game.
Q: This weekend you are playing at Delaware in the final regular season game. Villanova has beaten Delaware six times in the last eight years, but last season they beat you to knock Villanova out of the playoffs. This year you have a chance to do the same thing to them. How big a win would it be to beat Delaware this weekend?
JJ: It would be a huge win to beat Delaware, but we aren't concerned about going down there and being spoilers for their season because that's really not the way things should be. I don't think you should go in to try and ruin a team's season, because even though there is a rivalry between us, we still have a lot of respect for Delaware. What we want to do is go in and end our season on a winning note. We can solidify our season with a 7-4 record and go out with a respectable mark and hopefully get back into the top 25. We understand that we have to win to do those two things. We know that if we win it could potentially end their season, but that's not our motivation. We want to go out and play hard and give our fans that care about the game something to feel good about going into next season. We want to end on a good note for our seniors too.
Q: With the season starting to wind down, what goals do you have for the offseason?
JJ: My goals for the offseason are just to work hard. If we do have a 7-4 season, the goal is to not have another 7-4 season next year because we are better than that. We got hit with a few injuries and it hurts you. Even though everyone knows we rallied back, we knew that we probably shouldn't have been in that position. But we all want to work hard in the offseason. We're a strong team and have high morale. Everyone is willing to work hard and get better to help the team.
