Mike Pouncey has kicked fast food.
The Dolphins center is entering his second NFL season without any help from Big Macs, Chalupas or anything else readily available around almost every corner of the country. Pouncey told Izzy Gould of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that he’s hired a chef to help him maintain better nutrition. That’s just one of the reasons why Pouncey expects to take a step up the ladder in effectiveness this season.
“A big one. They say your second year is supposed to be your best year. I’m hoping for big things,” Pouncey said. “I’m coming out as hard as I can. I want to take on more of a leadership role this year.”
As Gould points out, Pouncey made the calls for the Dolphins line last season which makes you wonder what kind of leadership role he plans to take this year. Pouncey said that the lack of a full offseason last year made it hard to learn everything about the offense, something he said won’t be the case this season.
Pouncey is one of many 2011 rookies who has talked about the differences between this offseason and the one ruined by last year’s lockout. As training camp and the preseason get underway, it will be interesting to see if the extra work translates in bigger than expected gains from the 2011 rookie class.