Five with J-5: Tim Hightower

JV - Tim what's this year and a half been like, you were drafted, made a solid contribution to the team as rookie, played in the Super Bowl, and now you're back in training camp this year as the seasoned veteran?

TH - It's every athlete kid's dream who plays football, to play in a professional arena, and have a professional life in the NFL. Having the chance to be here and do something you've dreamed of doing all your life is great. You know I've been playing since I was in the fourth grade and actually get a chance to play, and then get a chance to be in the Super Bowl, get a chance to start my first year and learn from guys like Edge, who's going to be a Hall of Famer no doubt, it was a fun year, it taught me a lot of ups and downs, it's something that I'm very fortunate of and I'll never forget.

JV - You mention the ups and downs, I imagine one of the downs must have been coming so close to hoisting up the Vince Lombardi trophy in Tampa. How much do you think about that loss?

TH - You can't help but think about it, you try and put it in the back of your head, you try and forget about it because you have to move on, whether we won or lost you have to move on from last year but it's still something that you're going to keep and you'll never forget and you'll always remember what it takes to get there and continue to do the same thing.

JV - Edgerrin James helped you with the process last year, now you have a rookie in Beanie Wells coming in. I know you have just one year under your belt, but how much of a mentor can you be for him?

TH - Whatever it takes, whatever it takes for us to get back where we need to be, that's what I'm going to do. Edge did a great job, he could have kept to himself last year and been all about himself but he didn't; he took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew and I'm eternally grateful for that. I'm going to do the same thing and hopefully I can help him as much as I can, bring him along, and make his transition a lot easier and when it's time for someone to come up to him, he'll do the same thing.

JV - You draft Beanie but you also bring in Jason Wright - you've been in the NFL, you know things happen with injuries and situations, how important is it to have multiple running backs that can get the job done?

TH - Well it starts in practice, the more guys you have, and the quality competitive guys you have, they're going to push each other in practice and that's where it starts. You push each other in practice, you make each other better in practice, then you get in the game and now you know you can give it your all. Then when you're in a game and you need a blow, whether it's Beanie or Chris or LaRod, there's Jason, you know they're going to come in and carry the load. The more you have and the more the guys are competitive and want to push you, the better you'll be.

JV - What did the playoff run and reaching the Super Bowl do for the confidence of this team moving forward?

TH - It shows us what it takes to win, not that last year was any guarantee that you'll win this year, but we'll know what it takes to win. It's a long road, it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice, a lot of teamwork, and you know you can't bring nothing short of that for the next year. You have to bring that same intensity and even more intensity and it's possible to get back there, but you have to keep plugging away and stay focused and stay leveled on how you were the year before.