Entrance Interview series ($): Jack Cravaack | Jaylan Alexander | Branson Deen | Evan Anderson | Elijah Ball | Lawrence Johnson | Will Bramel | Payne Durham | Jordan Bonner | Eric Miller | K.J. Stokes | Jordan Rucker

Jimmy McKenna is enrolled at Purdue now, taking summer school classes only a few weeks after graduating from his Ohio high school.

It feels like it went by quickly.

"It's bittersweet," the offensive lineman said before arriving in West Lafayette last week. "Those are the kids I grew up with and played with in high school. ... But I'm just kind of ready to move on too, to bigger and better things."

Following is an Entrance Interview with the Avon, Ohio native.

GoldandBlack.com: What are you most excited about in getting to Purdue?

McKenna: "Playing football again."

GoldandBlack.com: Anything else?

McKenna: "Just meeting new people, that's really it. That and playing football."

GoldandBlack.com: So what have you been up to since football ended?

McKenna: "Eating and lifting."

GoldandBlack.com: What's your height and weight now?

McKenna: "I'm 6-5, 290 right now."

GoldandBlack.com: You've put on some pretty good weight?

McKenna: "I ended my senior season at like 275."

GoldandBlack.com: What kind of diet have you been on to try to gain weight?

McKenna: "Yeah, a high-protein, high-carb, low-fat."

GoldandBlack.com: What's been your workout/diet routine? What's been the typical day?

McKenna: "Oh, eating a big breakfast, big lunch, then lifting and eating a big dinner."

GoldandBlack.com: Did you play lacrosse this year?

McKenna: "I did not. I decided to sit out and focus on gaining weight and staying healthy."

GoldandBlack.com: Was it a difficult decision to make?

McKenna: "It was taking a toil on my body, with all the running and being as big as I am."

GoldandBlack.com: It had to be hard to balance lacrosse with wanting to gain weight, right?

McKenna: "I did that my junior year and it was awful. No matter how much food you ate, you would barely gain weight."

GoldandBlack.com: What weight did you play lacrosse at last year?

McKenna: "Probably 245-250."

GoldandBlack.com: And then you're still probably much bigger than others.

McKenna: "Most of the kids I played against were 5-5, 5-6 up to maybe 6-foot and 180 pounds. I think the biggest kid I played against was maybe 200 pounds at the most."

GoldandBlack.com: So being a 250-pounder in lacrosse, was that a good thing or bad thing?

McKenna: "It depends. It depends on what team you played. It depends on who the refs were that day. ... Some of the refs didn't like me, because I'd run into somebody and they'd fall down and I'd get flagged. I'm bigger and they think that I'm just bullying kids.

"... But there were some games that the refs would just let us play."

GoldandBlack.com: What did you like about lacrosse?

McKenna: "Being able to hit kids. It's like football but with a stick. I've got a 6-foot defensive stick and I got to hit kids with it. That was the draw, drew me into it."

GoldandBlack.com: How did a kid who was 5-8, 160 pounds react to you on a football field?

McKenna: "They didn't like me and knew to stay away from me. So a lot of times, my coach would just put me right in the middle of the box, right in front of the goal, because it would keep the smaller attackers out."

GoldandBlack.com: You and Payne Durham both played lacrosse. Is that more common, football players playing lacrosse?

McKenna: "Yeah, it's starting to take off now. Where I was from, my eighth grade year was my first year they had a program. I was kind of willing to help start it. So a lot of the seniors this year, we were the kids who had started the program."

GoldandBlack.com: Well, I know how lacrosse started for you. How did you get involved in football?

McKenna: "In seventh grade, I was like, 'I want to try something new' and my friends wanted me to come try football. I was always really big, but I had never played. I decided to play and fell in love."

GoldandBlack.com: Did you always play offensive line?

McKenna: "Yeah, most of the time I was on offense."

GoldandBlack.com: At what point did you realize that not only were you a big kid, but you had some athleticism?

McKenna: "I wasn't athletic, like athletic athletic, until freshman year, when I started to figure out I could move for my size. By my junior year, I was kind of like a freak in my abilities. That's what coaches saw, my ability to move."

GoldandBlack.com: What caused everything to come together for you at that point?

McKenna: "I grew really fast between eighth grade and freshman year. And I started to grow into my body sophomore year and started to get coordinated. Junior year, it all started to come together.

"... I played junior year at like 235. So it forced me to use more technique because I was undersized."

GoldandBlack.com: At 235, you showed a lot of potential.

McKenna: "In our offense, we ran a lot of screens and a lot of pulling. A lot of my film was screens and running, because we ran the ball a lot. It was a lot of me out in space."

GoldandBlack.com: With your weight up now, do you still think that's a strength of yours?

McKenna: "My whole goal was to put lean weight on and still be able to move."

GoldandBlack.com: You were a right tackle as a junior, then left as a senior. Any idea what position you'll start at?

McKenna: "I don't really know. It's whatever they decide in camp, because I'm in that weird range where I could play guard or tackle."

GoldandBlack.com: Guard is an option.

McKenna: "Yeah, wherever they see fit is where they're going to put me."

GoldandBlack.com: What's your greatest sports achievement?

McKenna: "Oh. Hum. Probably being one of best teams Avon's ever had, going 13-1. We made it to the final four."

GoldandBlack.com: How'd you lose?

McKenna: "We lost to a team called Archbishop Hoban, which is a catholic school up in Akron. You can't compete being a public school. They have like seven D-I recruits on that team. We hung with them in the first half but in the second half, we came out in the third quarter against the wind, so we lost all of our passing game. Once that happened, it was kind of over."

GoldandBlack.com: What will you miss about being away from home?

McKenna: "My family and girlfriend."

GoldandBlack.com: What's one thing you'll bring with you?

McKenna: "My computer."

GoldandBlack.com: What's your favorite video game?

McKenna: "Battlefield 1."

GoldandBlack.com: What will your adjustment be like, going from high school to Purdue?

McKenna: "They pushed us really hard at Avon, so I just know it's going to be more. But I think I'll do fine with the mental aspect."

GoldandBlack.com: Do you know your major yet?

McKenna: "Industrial engineering technology.

"Engineering kind of runs in my family, and so does IT. So the best of both worlds. My mom's an electrical engineer, my brother is mechanical and my dad works in IT."

GoldandBlack.com: What are your goals for next season?

McKenna: "I'm fine with either redshirting or playing. I'd prefer redshirting to get the extra year of college out of it, but if I play, I play. I don't make the final decision."

GoldandBlack.com: What number do you want to wear?

McKenna: "I haven't really decided yet. I'm open. ... I wore 58 in high school, but it's a new chapter, time to wear a new number."

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