Bigger, Faster, Stronger

JC Tretter '13 takes his last fall semester final Friday, then launches into five weeks of 12-hour training sessions in preparation for a football game that might clinch him an NFL berth.

His mantra: "Work hard and get bigger, faster, stronger."

That's what Tretter's been doing since he was in grade school. Wednesday, Tretter was named to play in Senior Bowl 2013

On Jan. 26 in Mobile, Ala., 800 coaches, scouts and team staffers will be watching every move of America's best college players. A lucky few will be drafted by the NFL.

Tretter intends to be one of them.

At Akron High School in western New York, he grew into one of upstate's best basketball and football players. Then, it was onto Big Red.

"I chose Cornell for the wonderful education," said Tretter, who reveled in ILR's collective bargaining classes, especially Economics of Collective Bargaining in Sports. "That was just a thrill. I loved every minute of it."

He considered going to law school, or working in sports management or human resources. But, his career dream is to play in the NFL.

"That's the goal," Tretter said in an interview Wednesday.

He arrived at Schoelkopf Field as a 237-pound tight end. Intense training helped build him to 305 pounds and to excel as a tackle, particularly this year.

"The season progressed well for me, Football is where I'm headed," Tretter said. If he isn't drafted, Tretter hopes to be signed as a free agent.

At the IMG Academy's football program in Bradenton, Fla., training sessions will run daily from is 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Tretter will fly home to Akron, N.Y., near Buffalo, for few days of Christmas festivities with his parents and sister Katherine, a 2011 AEM graduate.

Then, it's back to work finessing his skills as a guard, his assigned position for the bowl game.