JT Sun Sentinel Interview and Article
Even now, on the edge of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, people can’t grasp his lack of stereotypical girth. He’s often congratulated for losing weight in retirement rather than becoming the fattened ex-athlete.“I weigh a pound more than when I played,” he says, now 42. If it’s a surprise he’s 242 pounds, his career path to Saturday’s enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, is pockmarked by unconventional surprise. He conquered a childhood of poverty without his biological father. He didn’t play football until a high school junior. He received one college scholarship offer — and only after his high school coach begged an Akron assistant to watch him play basketball....Novak will be in Canton on Saturday. So will more than 100 players from Taylor’s Akron teams.