NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS MEDIA DAY - TE AARON HERNANDEZ - Ingles

Super Bowl XLVI – Tuesday, January 31, 2012

(on if he has an impersonation of TE Rob Gronkowski) “No, but he is funny. He’ll always make somebody laugh. He’ll have everyone having a great time.”

(on how it feels to have he and Giants WR Victor Cruz representing Puerto Rico in the Super Bowl) “I think it’s great for obviously the Puerto Rican community. Obviously there aren’t that many Puerto Ricans in the NFL, but having some in the Super Bowl is also a great deal.”

(on what he thinks about being part of Super Bowl week) “It’s a dream come true. It’s crazy. It’s obviously an honor to be here. I’m just trying to take it in right now, but when I’m sitting home by myself that’s when it’s really going to hit me. This is crazy.”

(on how dangerous it is when Gronkowski goes to spike the ball) “I’d say move out of the way, definitely. Let him spike that thing.”

(on being an immediate contributor as a young player) “Obviously the people around us, we have so many people around us that are great players and know the game and have been in the league for a long time, so they’ve got us acquainted with the offense and told us basically how to catch on. Obviously, me and ‘Gronk’ study our plays and want to be great players. That’s another reason why we succeed in this league.”

(on the challenges of learning the offense and how they picked it up) “Basically, focus and attention. Me and Rob, we practice hard, we study our plays, and like I said we want to be great players. When you want to be a great player, you put attention to detail and you put the effort in to succeed.”

(on how it feels to represent the Hispanic community in the Super Bowl) “It feels good, because obviously not many Puerto Ricans or Hispanic people are in the NFL, but knowing that the Hispanic population keeps growing, it means a lot.”

(on the part the Gronkowski plays in the offense) “Obviously that’s a huge part. He’s one of, basically the main reason why we succeed so well in this offense. He’s such a huge weapon and causes so many mismatches it makes it hard for defenses to focus on one player. Obviously if he’s a hundred percent, that’s what we need.”

(on how the game would change if Gronkowski were unable to play) “I think he’ll be fine, but it would obviously change the game a lot. It would basically be like playing without our main player.”

(on when the team’s two-tight end sets became a focal point of the offense) “I’d say maybe training camp this year when they started to work us together. We started to get comfortable with playing with each other, and coaches started understanding how they could use us to make mismatches versus the opposing defense.”

(on the chemistry between he and Gronkowski and the impact they have on the offense) “It’s been a long time since we got here already, and I’ll say that every practice and every week we develop more and more as players. We have great coaches and great players around us. A lot of people put it on just us making plays, but really it’s the people that we have around us that take attention off us, or when the attention is on us when it opens up a lot of other people on our offense. We have a great team effort and everything works together.”

(on how he and Gronkowski differ on and off the field) “On the field he’s more of a physical monster and is huge and hard to bring down and a blocker and I’m more agile and I try to use my quickness instead of just being physical with people. Off the field, we’re a lot alike. He’s a little more into the media, but we’re both outgoing. We both love to laugh, have fun, and we’re great friends.”

(on Gronkowski being a ‘beast’) “He’s definitely a beast, six-foot-six, 260 (lbs.), chiseled. I’d say that describes it.”

(on if Gronkowski shows off in the locker room) “I’d say not only in the locker room, probably everywhere. If I was like that, I probably would too.”

(on how tight end has become a featured position in the NFL) “When you have tight ends on your team or a tight end on your team, it’s tough for defenses to match up, especially if they’re athletic like Rob (Gronkowski), me, (Saints TE) Jimmy Graham, (49ers TE) Vernon Davis and stuff like that. Who do you really put on them? It’s tough if you put a linebacker on them then they’re a little too fast for a linebacker, or when you put a cornerback on them they’re a little too small. So you’ve got to have that one person who is like a tight end on defense, like a safety but more athletic than a safety and more physical than a corner, so it’s tough to guard a tight end.”

(on if there will eventually be that type of player brought in to guard tight ends in the future) “It’s hard to find, but they’ll definitely be trying to pick that up the way tight ends are developing.”

(on if guys like he and Gronkowski are changing the way the tight end position is played) “I’d say that people have been saying that, but there have been great tight ends for a long time now. The thing that’s happening is not many people use two tight ends as much as we use our tight ends. (We’re) maybe changing it in that way, but I don’t think changing the tight end position because there have been great tight ends for a long time. Shannon Sharpe, a lot of them.”

(on how it feels to reach the Super Bowl so early in his career) “It’s obviously an honor. You dream of stuff like this since you’re a little kid. You never really actually see yourself in this position because obviously it’s always a dream, but to be here seems surreal. It doesn’t really hit you when you’re sitting right now, but when you’re by yourself at home and you’re thinking, ‘Wow, I’m really playing for the Super Bowl,’ that’s when it really hits you.”

(on how this compares to the big games he played in college) “I remember doing the media day in college. I actually wasn’t on the podium, but I was walking around. I was looking around then just thinking how crazy that was, and now I’m in the Super Bowl and thinking how crazy this is. It’s crazy.”

(on if he’s nervous for the game) “Not right now, because this obviously is what we do. We play football. On game day when you wake up and it’s starting to hit you that, ‘Whoa, I’ve got the Super Bowl today,’ I’ll start getting some butterflies and maybe a little anxious to play. Besides that, nothing really.”

(on the versatility he brings to his position) “We have great coaches and they know how to put players where they can make plays. Different players need to be used differently, and they do a great job on this team on defense and offense. Look at Julian Edelman playing defense. Any player that can help any position, coaches put you in that position. If you can help the team, then that’s what they do with you.”

(on his thoughts when he was inserted at running back) “I was excited. I love having the ball in my hands. I played running back back in the day and I love running back, so I hope they give it to me some more.”

(on the Patriots coaching staff being more non-traditional in using players) “They just like to put people in positions where they can try to make plays. They try to give our athletes the ball, and they do a great job doing that.”

(on Head Coach Bill Belichick joking with the media) “He has some jokes in him. He definitely jokes. Not very often, but he jokes every once in a while. He’s a good dude, and you just have to catch him on the right day. It’s probably the right day today.”