By Theresa Manahan | Special to ESPN.com
In between the workouts and video-game sessions that make up the NFL offseason, Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Eben Britton has taken on a new challenge.
It's unlikely you'd hear an NFL offensive lineman on the local NPR affiliate, but in Jacksonville at 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night, you'll hear Britton calling the shots on his "73" radio show.
No, he's not talking Xs and Os, he's playing a collection of songs and poems based on a weekly theme. He has already recorded 11 60-minute shows and hopes to have 25 finished before the season starts.
How did you get into this?
A couple years ago, I happened to meet David Luckin from [the Jacksonville] NPR. At the time, I was growing a mustache for Movember, so he invited me to come on his show to promote the cause, and he suggested I bring some music to do a show with him. I had never listened to NPR before, but I started listening to his show after that and it inspired me, so I took him up on the offer. It was a lot of fun, and I realized it was something I'd love to learn more about. I've always loved making mixtapes and playlists, so I gave him a call asking if I could do it again and learn about producing a radio show.
Why not a sports show?
I have football, and I get to talk sports all day with the guys in the locker room. I want this to be a release from football, something that lets me get into my creative side and use the other side of my brain.
Where did your artistic side come from?
I was brought up with the arts and athletics like two sides of the same coin; both were a tremendous part of my upbringing. My dad was a painter and artist, so he used to have shelves filled with art books that I looked through as a little kid. And my mother was a writer. She worked in magazines and wrote a few plays.
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