Q&A: Carolina Panthers OL Fernando Velasco

Ten questions about life off the field with Carolina Panthers OL Fernando Velasco:

Q. It’s college football rivalry weekend. You’re a Georgia guy. Does that mean you hate Georgia Tech?

A. Yeah, absolutely. It’s definitely hate week in Georgia right now.

Q. Even after all these years?

A. Honestly for me, I never lost to Georgia Tech. In my four years of playing them I never lost to them.

Q. They have a cool fight song. Did you like anything about them?

A. I like the city that the school is in. Other than that, nothing else. So I like Atlanta, but nothing about the school.

Q. Is that home for you now?

A. Yeah. Gwinnett County.

Q. A bunch of NFL and NBA guys live there. Do you see a lot of those guys?

A. You see a lot of guys out. For whatever reason, just being in the Southeast, Atlanta’s a very popular town. There’s a lot to do, great place to raise your family. So you see guys across the whole league, whether it’s at a golf tournament or just out and about.

Q. Are you a part of any regular basketball games during the offseason?

A. No. I used to be when I was younger. But after I tore my Achilles, I kind of stayed away from the basketball court. I golf. I’m a golfer now.

Q. What’s the lowest your handicap’s been?

A. I’m really just getting into it. I started playing, then I tore my Achilles. This offseason was really my first time getting into it.

Q. Are you going to do a Thankgiving dinner this weekend since you played Thursday?

A. I’ll have something back in Georgia Saturday night just to be around family. Whether we eat traditional Thankgiving food a couple days after, I’m not sure. Definitely just being around the family and enjoy each other.

Q. Do you cook?

A. I just bought a grill this offseason. I’m really not good yet. I haven’t really perfected it. I need to get my sausage down before I consider myself good. When you’re a cook you’ve got to be able to do everything, whether it’s preparing appetizers or even desserts. I love peach cobbler so I want to eventually learn to make peach cobbler.

Q. There are a couple of Tech guys on the team. Will you have a friendly wager?

A. Me and Lou (Young) and Stephen (Hill), we may have to do something. We may have to bet colors or something, where a hat (of the winning team). So it’ll be good, fun times.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Q&A: Carolina Panthers OL Fernando Velasco."