What is your full name?
Jabrel Levi Mines.

Any family connections in your name?
My middle name is shared between me, my dad, and my brothers.

Where are you from?
From Caroline County, Doswell, Va., which is near Kings Dominion

Is Caroline County known for anything besides Jabrel Mines?
Recently we had the state fair, so are kind of known for that now. A lot of people know us as the county right beside Kings Dominion. So we kind of always stay between Richmond and Fredericksburg.

Have you ever worked at Kings Dominion?
I have.  I worked security at Kings Dominion for three summers straight. It was probably one of the most interesting jobs I have ever had.

What was a good story from working security at that Kings Dominion?
One day we had a guy who took an something, and my football skills actually came into play - he ran towards me, and I broke down and I was able to stop him. 

So he had stolen something?
Yeah, he had taken something and he was running out to the parking lot. I was working at the parking lot at the time, and I broke down in my stance, took a couple scrape steps and fit the gap and I got him. I Used my technique - it came in handy not only on the field, but off it as well.

Currently, what show are you watching?
Currently, I just finished watching "Suits." It's one of my favorite shows.  Right now I'm watching a little "Hard Knocks Miami Dolphins." Chad Johnson has gone off, but I'm still keeping up with it.

You're listening to what right now?
I have a wide variety of music that I listen too.  If I had to go to my car right now, probably a little old school, R&B.  B.W. (Webb) was riding with me this morning, so we had a little old school.  We had some Luther playing today.

Luther Vandross?
Luther Vandross. We had a little Luther playing, some Marvin Gaye. We usually keep it up style but today we had a little throw back.

Today, it was just a mellow day?
Today was a little mellow day.  It was a little overcast outside, so we wanted to take it back.

What is your favorite movie or favorite movies?
My favorite movie would be "Life" with Eddie Murphy and Marin Lawrence.  I can watch that movie anytime and laugh at it.  Also, "Lion King" was a good movie.  That came on in camp a few days ago and all the guys gathered around watching it.  I can imagine that if someone had seen that, they wouldn't have thought we were the football players.

Who is your favorite athlete?
Without going with what everyone else would say, Marvin Harrison. I know he got into a little trouble off the field, but I got to meet him when I was younger, and he was a very mellow guy.  He was quiet, did his job, got it done, didn't necessarily have to speak about things all the time, but when you needed him on the field he was there and he showed up.

What is your favorite motto?
I've heard a lot of different things, since I've been here over my time. Coach Laycock, Coach Boone and Coach Shoop (former defensive coordinator) have all said different things. The one I have found to be the most true is "one day at a time."  I have learned in my time here that you try to play the game on Monday or you try to play the game on Tuesday at lot of times, and you just have to take things one day at a time, and just get better one day at a time.  For me that has really come true, and that motto "one day at a time" really sticks out for me.

Amongst the linebackers who is the biggest character?
If you ask the team, the biggest character amongst the linebackers would be Dante Cook. But from the linebacker core perspective, we would probably go with Alex Goodman.  He's always got a smile on his face.  He's always got a joke for us or something in meetings. Whenever it seems like it's getting too serious he kind of brings us back down and reminds us that we need to have fun with this as well.  He does it in a different kind of way but he would probably be the biggest character.

What is one ability that you'd like to have that you currently do not?  It doesn't even have to be attainable...
If I could fly that would make getting interceptions a lot easier.  If I could have a real basic goal, it would probably be to play an instrument.  I would love to be able to play the piano or saxophone.

Your favorite meal is?
I would say my favorite meal is something that doesn't even really go together.  You could give me some chalupas and probably a couple pancakes on the side and I'll be good to go. It doesn't sound like a good mixture but that would make my night complete.

Growing up I rooted for...
Growing up I rooted for the Chicago Bulls.  Everybody was a Michael Jordan fan and I was right along with them.  I always wanted them to win.  My dad likes the Dodgers, so you just hate whatever your dad is going to go with, so for some reason I picked the Braves.  I went to a lot of Richmond Braves games, so the Atlanta Braves became my favorite baseball team. 

Best Class you have taken?
Best Class I've taken since I've been here would be my freshman seminar, Lance Armstrong.  We rode our bikes and different things; we got to experience it hand on. The final paper was about whether we thought Lance Armstrong cheated, so that was probably one of the easier papers. It was 10 pages, but it was probably one of the most interesting papers I've written.

Did you think he cheated?
I'm a person that believes in innocent until proven guilty, and I didn't think he cheated.  A lot of people mention how he had testicular cancer and ask how was he able to come back from that, but, you know, he was a person who battled.  He was beyond an average person, skill-wise, at riding a bike.   Then just his determination alone, some people are just good.  People don't question Michael Jordan, people don't question certain other athletes who have been successful, and so I won't question him as well.

If you could play any other position what would it be?
Running back. I miss my running back days sometimes.  Sometimes I get a pick or I get a fumble or something, and people always call me the highlight reel.  I might get 10 yards, but I might run for 30.  So if I could play another position, it would probably be running back.

Besides you, when things get tough out on the football field, who are people looking to?
Besides myself, when things get tough, I would say Brian Thompson, the co-captain.  There is a reason that he was picked along with me.  Whenever guys get down, you can always count on him to have a positive attitude be the person to say 'come on team, let's go', or just telling us when we are wrong sometimes.  In leadership, often times you have to step on toes, and he doesn't mind doing that.  Sometimes it means telling guys they're wrong and need to do better.  Sometimes we try to be too nice, but in this game you only get one play at a time, and one chance, so that's what it requires sometimes.

Best athlete you have ever played against?
The best athlete I have ever played against, by far, would have to be Percy Harvin.  I played against him in a 7 on 7 passing league, and you could tell that he was a superior athlete.

What video games do you play?
Currently, I play NCAA 2013 all the time with my roommate B.W. Webb. 

What is your favorite spot on campus?
My favorite spot on campus, outside of the Laycock Center because I'm there all the time, is the sunken gardens.  A lot of time after class, if I have an hour, I will just go and sit on the steps.  It's a beautiful place to be to kind of get your mind off things.

What is one thing that can always bring a smile to your face?
A song. I love to sing, so you know even if I'm down or something and I hear someone singing it's usually going to bring a smile to my face.  No matter how serious I'm being or how serious the situation is, if someone brings out a little tune I can't help myself.

Who in your coaching staff do you think is the biggest character?
Coach Andrews.  Coach Andrews is always joking around.  One thing he always stresses is just having fun. 

What is one of the most important lessons that football has taught you?
Seizing every opportunity.  Opportunities come along every once in a while, and you just have to take advantage of them.  You never know when things are happening.  You always hear the phrase 'opportunity is the key to life' and I really realize that a lot on and off the field.  The discipline football has taught me has helped me off the field but just taking advantage of every opportunity, every moment, has really been something that has carried over to my life outside the field.

Last book you read?
The last book I read would be Tony Dungy's, Quiet Storm.  

Outside of football, what is your career aspiration 10 years from now?
Outside of football, 10 years from now I would love to be a physical therapist.  It's something I did this summer, and I really enjoyed it.  Interacting with people, seeing different injuries I have experienced and different things I have seen.  I would love to do that.  Being able to help people is something I would love to do, and I feel like 10 years from now if I could see myself doing that, and I would be happy.