Anthony Hargrove - Where Are They Now? NFL Lockout Edition

Yeah, I know Anthony Hargrove is still an NFL player, but with this lockout it feels like such a long time since we heard from some of our guys. We know many are spending time at Tulane working out with Drew Brees and Jonathan Vilma, but what about the other guys?

BTW, the film The Other Guys with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg is awesome. Just watched it for the first time this morning. Hilarious!

Sorry for the tangent. Now back to Hargrove. I found this interview he did with The TandD.com that posted yesterday. Hargrove has been pretty quiet this offseason. He's a free agent and may not be back with the Saints once the lockout is lifted. He's been working out in Florida and is reportedly below 280 pounds for the first time since early in his career. Some are saying he wants to go back to playing defensive end. With Will Smith starting the season* on a four-game suspension, will the Saints put greater emphasis on working out a deal with Hargrove once the lockout ends? His versatility could be a great asset for our defensive line.

Make the jump for clips from the Hargrove interview.

Q. With the NFL Lockout, how has this off-season been as different as any during your pro career?

A. For me personally, I've never done anything like this. This offseason, it's given me a lot more time to just try and figure out what I want to do with my life, where my life is going to be without football. I've been coaching a semi-pro football team down in Port Charles, Fla.. I've visited several AMIKids locations through the state of Florida and just able to do a lot of service work and just give back to the community and ... just go out there and just be a good role model. I believe something needs to change in this world in these kids' lives. We're not doing enough, so it's been my goal and my family's goal this whole off-season, this whole break, to try to change as many lives as possible.

Q. Do you view the current labor situation as a break from work?

A. It all depends on what you call work. I love playing football and everything, but there is a bigger picture here. There's these kids that are trying to figure out their lives. They're the next generation of hope for this world, for our communities, and if nobody is going to spend the time with them to mold them, to get them on the right path, then we don't care about our future. Whether football comes back or not, these kids are going to grow up so it's giving these kids something more to hold onto and not just football. The world is much bigger than football and I think that's what people need to realize. These kids are important. There are kids like this all over the world.

Over at Roosevelt Gardens, there are kids there who don't have anything. They don't have a playground set to play on. Nobody ever comes to spend time with them. Just being able to go down to Roosevelt Gardens to see those kids just for a period of time, you just realize that there's so much more going on in this world and I'm not really focused on the lockout. That's something they (Players and Owners' representatives) have to figure out among themselves. At the same time, I'm on a mission to try to change as many lives as possible. We still have people here to serve.

Q. If and when everything is settled, how are you keeping yourself ready for the season?

A. I ran today with the kids. There's nobody that has more energy than kids.

I know the things I need to do to be in shape. There's always a weight room somewhere. You can go to a high school. So when the time comes, I'll be ready to play. That's not my biggest worry.

Q. South Carolina State offensive tackle Johnny Culbreath was drafted in the seventh round by the Detroit Lions. How should he prepare himself for his rookie year?

A. Right now, this rookie class is going to face a whole lot of different things than we had to face. When I was a rookie, we had time to prepare. At this point, the rookies are being shortened. They are going to have to come in there with increased knowledge of the game. He's got to understand that's he's coming in on a short lease. Every little thing is exemplified. It's blown up more this time because there's not as much time to prepare. If I was him, I would try to study as much film on NFL players as possible so at least you know what you're getting yourself into. Just get around guys who made Pro Day and kind of figure out what the structure of what the days are like because this upcoming season, if there's a season, is going to be different than anything anybody has ever faced and that's a challenge in itself. How are guys going to stay prepared. How are guys are going to get prepared if or when a season may start?

*Season may not actually happen.