In a lot of ways, Terrapin tight end Dan Gronkowski is a model collegiate football player. He paid his dues and constantly improved as a player, graduated in three years, and now he is finally making an impact in the passing game as a fifth-year senior.

Here are a few thoughts I couldn’t weave into today’s story on the 6-foot-6, 255 pound player that quarterback Chris Turner compared physically to 300 character Leonidas:

 Gronkowski spoke candidly about his twice-weekly, summer Yoga workouts over at the Eppley Recreation Center. It’s hard to tell if he was good or not. (Center Edwin Williams said he was one of the best in the group of Terp big men who hit the yoga mats this summer, while tight end Lansford Watson declared him one of the worst.) But Gronkowski asserted that he can definitely feel the difference in his mobility thanks to the workouts, even if they stretched him to the limit.

“It’s really tough and challenging, especially being so big with tight muscles and stuff,” Gronkowski said. “The girl who did it really made it tough. It’s a big challenge, and I think she [the instructor] gets a kick out of making the big guys stretch and do all the crazy poses.”

When I initially interviewed Gronkowski for this piece on the Tuesday before the Virginia game, he was very excited about his sibling rivalry. He talked about competing numbers wise with his three brothers currently playing football (two at Arizona, one in high school). Back then he was feeling good about leading his brothers in catches and yards and being tied for the Gronkowski lead in touchdowns. But Wednesday he seemed much less confident in his abilities to stack up against younger brother, Rob, who was a freshman All-American at Arizona last season. Rob missed the first three games of this season due to mononucleosis but bounced back to score five touchdowns in his first two games of the season.

“If I don’t make it [in the NFL], I’m going to go live with him,” Gronkowski joked.

And here’s a final quote to sum up what he means to this team from Watson when asked what it means to play with a guy who has lined up alongside NFL tight ends Vernon Davis and Joey Haynos.

“It’s an honor to be out there with him because he’s hopefully going to be in the NFL next year,” Watson said. “I’m taking whatever I’ve got to take in from him, so I can do it next year.”

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