Growing up in Texas, Jace Amaro had dreams of playing football on Sundays in the NFL. Thanks to hard work and perseverance, Amaro fulfilled his dream in 2014 when he was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

Injuries hampered his start in the Big Apple for Gang Green, but now he has been given a new lease on life as a member of the Tennessee Titans. The budding superstar was able to speak to us recently about how he got started with football, his college career at Texas Tech, pregame rituals, and what it means to be Latino in the NFL.

EM: Let's go back to the beginning; when did you first start playing organized football? When did you realize you were “good” at the game?

JA: I started playing when I was about 12 years old. The first time I played with like shoulder pads and the helmet and stuff was for the YMCA. I mean, I played flag football when I was younger, but I was a bigger basketball guy growing up. Probably from elementary school through middle school, I played basketball. I didn't hit my stride in terms of football until I got to high school. Going into my freshman year, I thought I actually had a chance to do this at a higher level.

EM: How did you decide to go to Lubbock and Texas Tech? I'm assuming you had a lot of options based on how successful you were in high school?

JA: Well, both my parents went to Tech, so I was pretty much bred into it. My Dad's family is also from Lubbock, so I was up there a lot during my childhood. It was something where I had them as my school from day one. There wasn't anything anyone could do to change my mind about being a Red Raider. I'm grateful I got the opportunity to go there. It was a tremendous experience.

EM: So, what was it like for you to come from a big city, like San Antonio, to a relatively small one like Lubbock, to arguably the biggest one in New York? And I know it's early, but how about the differences in New York and Nashville? What have you noticed?

JA: It was definitely a change of scenery, especially coming from my home in San Antonio to a kind of small city in Lubbock which only has a couple hundred thousand people. Going to New York, it was just “Wow.” It was different going to a city that has pretty much anything you could ever want at any time of the day. It was definitely also a change of pace going from Lubbock to New York, especially the way everyone interacts with everyone and how the media is. It's kind of crazy. You get used to it though. Nashville reminds me of a larger Lubbock, if that makes sense. I feel like the people are very passionate about supporting the teams and they really rally around us. It's also similar to Austin in the way the downtown is set up. Playing here is something I'm looking forward to.

EM: Changing things up a bit, let's talk pregame activities. What's a pregame meal like for you? What do you listen to before a game? And, do you have any rituals or superstitions you follow?

JA: Well, depending on what time of day the game is, that impacts what I eat. If it is early on, like a noon game, I might just have a smoothie and some egg whites. I don't like to eat a heavy breakfast. If it's later, like a night game, I'll eat a pretty good meal around 3:00 p.m. since that will probably be the last time I eat before midnight.

I haven't done it in a while, actually since I've been in the NFL, but this is something I want to do again. I used to go around before every game, from high school to college, and tell everyone we were going to win this game. No matter if they were a starter or not going to play much, everyone plays a part in a team win, so that's something I hope to get back to doing.

For music, I don't like the heavy rock or any of the mainstream hip hop. If that stuff is like a 10, my music is more like a 5. I'll listen to stuff like Coldplay or some John Mayer or Kings of Leon. I like more mellow, soothing, or calm.

EM: Perfect. Last thing for you, even though there are more numbers now than ever, there are still relatively few Latinos playing in the NFL. Being one of that select group, does that give you any extra motivation? Do you take any extra pride in that?

JA: Absolutely, you know, like you said, there just aren't that many Latinos playing in the NFL, or even in professional sports in this country really. I guess in baseball there are more and basketball has seen the numbers grow, but in the NFL, yeah, there just aren't that many. I definitely take pride in that and it is something I try to represent to the best of my abilities every time I take the field. I hope that I'll be able to be an example for maybe some other Latinos out there who might want to play pro football one day. I hope I can be a role model for them.