Rob Carr, Associated Press Bruce Gradkowski

After passing for 298 yards and five touchdowns to earn MVP honors in the GMAC Bowl, Toledo quarterback and Seton-La Salle High School graduate Bruce Gradkowski got to spend some time with his family over the holidays.

The visit was short, however, because Gradkowski, who graduated from Toledo in December with a degree in marketing and management, moved to the Atlanta area at the start of January to work out at Competitive Edge Sports in Duluth, Ga., in preparation for the NFL draft.

The NFL draft is April 29-30 and Gradkowski, who has hired Carnegie-based Ralph Cindrich as his agent, expects to be selected in the middle to late rounds. Not bad for a guy who wasn't heavily recruited by Division I-A colleges coming out of high school. Gradkowski sat down with the Post-Gazette's Rich Emert and talked about his future over an Italian hoagie.

Q: Have you gotten any indication where you might go in the NFL draft?

Gradkowski: Right now it is sounding like the third to fifth rounds and I'm considered a safe pick. In my mind, I feel I should go the first day of the draft. That's my goal -- to go the first day, but it's hard to say.

Q: Does the fact you're probably going to get drafted in the middle to late rounds make you work harder?

Gradkowski: Once again, I'm starting from scratch. It's just like when you go to college and you have to prove yourself to the coach. I'm going to have to prove myself all over again.

Q: There are Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Charlie Frye, Chad Pennington, Charlie Batch ... why do so many quarterbacks from the Mid-American Conference make it in the NFL?

Gradkowski: We come from a very strong league, and people don't realize that. We play against good competition, and in the MAC you've got to learn to read defenses and learn about defenses. You see how well guys like Byron Leftwich and Chad Pennington and Roethlisberger and Charlie Frye have done and it opens a lot of people's eyes and, hopefully, I'll get more of an opportunity because of that.

Q: What do you say when you hear that you're a product of the system -- that anybody running a spread offense would have great passing numbers?

Gradkowski: Of course if you play in a good system you're going to have good numbers. But I don't think you're going to have good numbers if you're not a good quarterback. You have to learn the system, know your reads and learn to read defenses.

Q: The offense you ran at Toledo is more like a pro system because you threw the ball a lot, right?

Gradkowski: We do all kinds of different things with our offense, especially this past year because we ran the football a lot. People say I don't play under center a lot, which I don't understand because I was always under center this year. You have to be able to throw the ball, but I think the thing you have to do as a quarterback is you need to know how to manage the game.

Q: Some people say you don't have a strong arm. How do you feel about that?

Gradkowski: I'll get my opportunity to disprove that at the combine and at my individual workouts. Let me make all the throws and I'll prove to you that I can. I'm excited because if that's my only downfall, let me prove them wrong.

Q: Do you pride yourself on being a pretty good athlete?

Gradkowski: You have to be a good athlete to play quarterback, especially now because everyone out there is fast. You've got Javon Kearse coming around the end with 4.3 speed, you better be elusive. These days you see more athletic quarterbacks rather than the Dan Marino type that just stays in the pocket and wings it. I'm not saying Marino wasn't athletic because he was, but these days you have to be able to move and make plays.

Q: You've got your college degree. Have you thought about what you'd like to do outside football?

Gradkowski: I've thought about maybe owning my own restaurant some day or something like that. I've got a huge family and maybe get them involved at some point. Have you ever seen the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? Something like that.

Q: Was there a quarterback who you watch now or used to watch growing up?

Gradkowski: Dan Marino I always idolized growing up. You know, he's a Pittsburgh guy and I wore No. 13. What a great leader he was, and he'd sit back there and zing the ball all over the place. But now it's Peyton Manning, and I look up to him because he manages the football game. He makes the right decisions, the right checks, and that's what you have to do as a quarterback ... make the right decisions and not turn the ball over.

Q: Have you ever had to tackle anybody in a game?

Gradkowski: Oh, yeah. If they pick off a pass I'm going to try and show them they shouldn't have done that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I try to go after them.

Q: What's your response to people who say you're never going to make it? I'm sure you heard that coming out of high school.

Gradkowski: You're always going to have those critics out there that doubt you, but that's what drives me. When people say I can't do something I just work harder to prove them wrong. I can't let what people say affect the way I think and what my goals are.

Q: Do you have to have an edge to you when you go on the field?

Gradkowski: All the great players believe in themselves. You can't be overconfident, but you have to believe in yourself because there are going to be times when all the coaches doubt you and all you have is yourself, and if you believe in yourself that's all you need. If you believe in yourself there's no telling what you can do and that's the most important thing.