[media-credit id=11515 align=”alignnone” width=”1500″]Wide receiver Ross Drwal ’18 made three catches, including one for a touchdown, against Army last weekend. Thanks to his performance, Drwal’s stats were displayed on ESPN, something the Omaha native “didn’t think was ever going to happen.” The News talked to the former high school quarterback to discuss his recent performance, along with the rest of his freshman season.

Q: Your first touchdown was against Army. Can you walk through the play?

A: They called a pass play, and I just happened to be open. Morgan [Roberts ’15, quarterback] threw it to me. Then I made a juke move, and found the end zone. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.

Q: What went through your mind when you scored?

A: [I was] just excited. It was great. There were so many fans there and it was such a big game. All my family was there and all my teammates were freaking out. My teammates were making fun of me watching film because they said I was running faster after I scored a touchdown than before. I don’t know about that.

Q: Speaking of family, your brother used to play wide receiver for Lehigh, the team Yale beat in week one. Was he at the Lehigh game as well?

A: Yes, he was. He came to the Lehigh game too. It was nice to get the win. I said, ‘who are you cheering for?’ and he said ‘I’m cheering for you, I’m cheering for Yale.’

Q: Can you talk about the significance of the Army game?

A: It was so special, and such a traditional game. It was the 100th anniversary of the Yale Bowl, all the students on campus were excited about the game, the faculty was excited — I know some professors went. The team was so pumped up for the game. It was a cool experience.

Q: In addition to your touchdown, you had two other catches against Army. Why do you think you were getting so many touches this game?

A: I don’t know, really. I guess that’s the way the game goes. You don’t know if you’re going to get a lot of catches. The quarterback makes his reads, and it turns out I got a couple of catches in that game. I was a little nervous at first, but once I made my first catch I gained a little confidence, and that’s good to have.

Q: What is your relationship like with quarterback Morgan Roberts, and did the Army game change that at all?

A: He’s a very nice guy. He’s a great leader and he runs the offense very well. He’s really easy going, and he’s the type of guy you want at quarterback. I stretch right by him in the line, and so I get to talk to him everyday. We have a pretty good relationship.

Q: After your performance, your stats were broadcast on ESPN. Can you talk about what that was like?

A: Oh man, my friend took a picture of that, sent it to me, and put it on Twitter. I was like, ‘no way.’ All my friends from home, from Omaha, saw that. I didn’t think that was ever going to happen. The fact that I was on ESPN and that I got a touchdown just put me on cloud nine. It was so cool to see.

Q: What are your goals for the rest of the season?

A: Just improvement. I need to get better every day. I’m still a huge work in progress. I switched positions this year so I’m trying to be a better player and a better teammate each day. Just improve overall.

Q: So how has the transition between positions been going?

A: It was really hard. I played quarterback last year, and wide receiver is completely different. During camp, I was really struggling. I was learning a whole new offense. I was learning all these hand signals, and just basically a whole new position. It was really stressful and I struggled at the beginning. Luckily, there are great leaders on my team. Deon Randall ’15 and Grant Wallace ’15 and all the other guys helped me out. Just watching them putting in a lot of work [is] helping me improve a lot — but there’s so much work to do.

MAYA SWEEDLER