EDITOR'S NOTE:*Cornerback Antwaun Molden, a third-round draft choice at No. 79 overall out of Eastern Kentucky, is providing fans with a weekly diary entry throughout his rookie season on HoustonTexans.com.
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This Tuesday, I went to two high schools with Duane Brown and Dominique Barber. We went to Booker T. Washington, and we also went to West High School.
At Booker T. Washington, we talked to the ninth and tenth grades in an auditorium. We talked to the junior varsity and varsity football teams at West.
I had a couple of messages, but I think one of the most important ones was to stay in school and finish their education. It meant a lot for me to be able to do it. I never had anyone like a professional football player speak to me in high school, so I know it was important. I know what it's like being a high school kid, with dealing with classes and with different attitudes and being in the weight room and the study habits, all those things, so hopefully I was able to relate to them pretty well.
Giving back is a blessing for me. That's what I'm here to do, to serve, and I think it's important that us as athletes to be positive role models in the community and in our homes.
I was pretty nervous, though, because nobody told me it was an entire school I was talking to at Booker T. And so when we got there, they slapped nametags on us and put us up there on stage in front of about 1,500 kids. But it was nice. The crowd responded in a positive, humane, way, and we had a good message. They weren't too tough on us.
{QUOTE}As for football, it felt really tremendous to be able to make some plays on special teams last week. They brought me here to play, and that's what I'm looking forward to doing. Anything they want me to do, I'm going to do it. If it involves going down there doing anything on special teams, I love to do it. I just love the game, and I'm dedicated to whatever I have to do.
When you can pin a team back inside their own five-yard line, it helps the defense a lot because it's a small margin of room in which the opposing offense has to work with and you have the momentum. And say if they punt, then it's good field position for our offense to take the ball over.
With the Bengals this week, their record doesn't reflect their play. When you watch film, you often tell yourself, "These guys can't be 0-7," because of the firepower they have on offense with T.J. and with Chad and the running game, Benson and Chris Perry and those guys.
Also, you've got to take into account the teams that they've played. They've played the number one defense, number two defense, three, four and five. Their games haven't been easy. They went up against the best, and in order for us to continue our thing, we have to respect our opponent.
Getting our third win in a row this week would give us great momentum. We would definitely feed off of it going to Minnesota next week, and so I think this is a very important win given the stuff that we've been through at the beginning of the season. We're looking forward to it.
- Antwaun
ANTWAUN MOLDEN DIARY ARCHIVE
**10/17** - Making my first tackle; Dunta Robinson's return
**10/10** - Moving past Indy; facing my old friend Teddy Ginn
**10/3** - Looking forward to my first home game
**9/26** - Contributing in any way that I can
**9/19** - Experiencing Hurricane Ike - my first hurricane
**9/12** - Anxious about the hurricane; playing on Monday night?
**9/5** - Answering fan questions; preparing for Pittsburgh
**8/26** - Watching Harry Williams go down
**8/20** - Looking back on a week in New Orleans
**8/8** - Excited for my first game; rookie hazing
**8/2** - Training camp - tiring, but not overwhelming
**7/27**;/1218232188794/) - Life as a rookie in a new city
Post a comment or e-mail the editor at *nscurfield@houstontexans.com* if you have a question for Antwaun that you'd like to see answered in his next diary entry.
