Drew Ott is a two-year starter and All-Big Ten defensive end who really broke out last season for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Even with two future NFL players along the interior, Ott still led the team in tackles for loss (12), sacks (8) and QB pressures (7). He even returned a blocked punt 12 yards for a touchdown.

You probably know about Ott, but we wanted to get to know him a little better -- through a mixture of light-hearted hypotheticals, some personal questions and, yes, even some football.

Forget the football questions for now, Drew: If you had a time-travel machine, where and when is the first place you'd go?

Drew Ott: That's a tricky question. But I'd probably just go back to the 1970s to drive old muscle cars up and down some Main Street. That was the Muscle Car era, and there was a little bit more road freedom.

No dinosaurs? Way to play it safe. Anyway, you grew up on a farm in a town of about 220 people. What was the best part of that, and what was the worst?

Ott: The worst was that if I ever wanted fast food or something like that, then I'd have to drive like 30 minutes to go get that. That was probably the worst part. The best part was probably driving around country roads and stuff like that -- not a lot of police.

I'm taking it you're pretty into cars then. So, since you grew up in the middle of nowhere, you have a favorite road trip?

Ott: One time, I drove my three-wheeler, like an ATV, I drove it like 90 miles to one town to get chicken wings with my friend, and he was on his four-wheeler. I was like 15, so that was a pretty memorable trip. They were good chicken wings.

Since we're on the topic of food, I have to ask -- for people who'll visit Iowa City for the first time this season, where should they grab a bite to eat?

Ott: If they want to spend a lot of money, they should go to Joseph's. It's like a steakhouse; it's pretty good. They took me on my recruiting trip there; I think that's the only time I ever ate there. But it was really good. Or you should go to Flannigan's. It's a bar that has steak specials on Thursday and Saturdays. I'm a connoisseur of red meat.

During these Q&As, we learned that Penn State's Anthony Zettel believes in ghosts and aliens, and Northwestern's Nick VanHoose plays the ukulele. So I've got to ask: What's the weirdest thing about Drew Ott?

Ott: I eat a lot of raw eggs and the egg shells. That seems to creep people out -- or they think it's cool.

I think I'm going to have to follow that up, Drew. Why the heck are you eating raw eggs? Do you actually enjoy it?

Ott: I like it now, but it's just a party trick -- just to see if [other people] can eat raw eggs because there's a lot of gagging, so it's pretty funny. On top of that, it's just healthy. It's got a lot of calcium in the shell, too, so it's all good.

I need some clarification here. You said you like it, so will you just eat raw eggs for the heck of it -- or do you kind of need an audience?

Ott: I'll wake up and just eat them for breakfast or, if someone new's over, I'll see if they'll eat a raw egg. I'll eat one then. But I'll have that for a main meal, too. It's a little bit of an acquired taste. You'll have to try one ... You got to drink a little bit of the yolk and then mash the eggshell down. You got to chew it up, and you really got to enjoy the egg.

I think I'll pass. But I dug your weird answer, so let me ask you another weird question. What cartoon character is the most similar to you?

Ott: Maybe Buster off of "Arthur," a little kids' show. Maybe I'm not as dumb as Buster [laughs], but I'm a little goofy -- a little out there, a little different from Arthur and D.W. ... No, I don't watch it anymore, but I did during my childhood.

Let's change it up with a serious question. You had eight sacks in your first eight games last season but, in the last five games against some of the better competition, you had no sacks. What happened there, and how do you maintain that production this season?

Ott: I would say I just wore down. I didn't finish strong enough. I wasn't very detailed toward the end of the season as I should've been and just wasn't making it happen. So, hopefully, this season I'm a bit better conditioned and have a better finishing mindset.

If Kirk Ferentz retired tomorrow and you could pick any current Big Ten head coach -- no Iowa assistants -- to take his place, who would you go with?

Ott: I'm trying to think of them. [Pauses.] I'd say Urban Meyer. It seems like he's had a lot of success over there, so I think he'd bring it over here.

And the final question: If you were starting up a Big Ten team tomorrow and could pick any non-Hawkeye, who'd you choose?

Ott: There's some good running backs and quarterbacks, but I'd probably go with -- hmm -- Ohio State's running back (Ezekiel Elliott). I watched their championship game, and he was a beast out there. Looks like he could make some plays. And if we would run the Iowa system, then we need a good running back.