Some third graders begin a sport because it's what all their friends are doing.

For 6'1”, 305-pound starting right guard Adam Kleffner, football was in the family.  His dad (Steve, who died when he was five) was a starting offensive lineman for Oregon, following a career at Adam's alma mater, Jesuit High School, and Mount Hood Community College.

He's been big as long as he can remember, so the offensive line has been home since the very beginning.  As a high school junior, he was 6'1” and 300 pounds.  He played on two state championship teams at Jesuit and was a first team All-Metro and All-State offensive lineman in 2006.

Northern Arizona (NAU) and PSU showed interest as his high school career blossomed and Oregon State offered him a walk-on spot.  But, it really was no contest.  “At Portland State, I could play in front of my family and friends and that has been really great,” he said.  In fact, his family has attended all his home games and his older brother Jacob (who played football at Linfield) even traveled with a friend to watch this year's TCU game.

Ironically, he lists this year's win over NAU as the highlight so far of his college football career.

“That was the coolest…the way we responded to adversity.  We played every quarter. No one gave up, and we all wanted to win.  In the past, some people might have given up in that kind of situation,” he said.

His first year as a Viking coincided with the beginning of head coach Jerry Glanville's short tenure.  It was a difficult transition, because of the deterioration of the team's win-loss record, but mainly because as a freshman redshirt, he wasn't in the middle of the action.

“I played on the scout team that first year and it was pretty frustrating not to be out there helping,” he said.

In a couple of words, Kleffner is a team player.  And it's the team aspect of the game that makes him really like football.

“In basketball (which he plays for fun) or track (a high school sport for him), the emphasis is more on the individual. In football, we depend on everyone doing his job to be successful. In track, for instance, if you win, it's all about you and all on you.  If we win, everyone shares in the victory.  We depend on each other to be good.  We help make good players better,” said Kleffner.

He quickly bats down the notion that being an offensive lineman is a big pushing game, strength against strength (although offensive line coach Brad Davis said Kleffner is plenty strong).

“It's about control and effort.  I've played against guys bigger and faster than me, but we work hard to be in good physical shape and we're very well prepared for every game.  This shows in the fourth quarter,” he said.

And, third year coach Davis said being in good shape is just one of Kleffner's strengths as a senior.

“In the off season, Adam did a lot of things to get his body in shape.  He came back strong and more flexible.  He's more knowledgeable and a better all around football player this year,” Davis said.  More importantly, “he's learned how to lead a group of guys.”

Davis credits Kleffner with playing a major part in the publicized closeness of the offensive linemen.  “There's a close sense of camaraderie.  He was integral to developing that,” said Davis.

The Viking offensive line “challenges each other. They push each other.  It makes my job easier because I'm not having to discipline effort.  They expect great effort from themselves every play and that starts in practice.”

The effort has paid off on the field as the line has led Portland State's running game to be the best in the Big Sky Conference in both 2010 and 2011.

In the offseason, Davis said, Kleffner spent time studying film, looking at what they did well and what they did not do so well.  He targeted concepts in the spring… fire zone pressure, how teams defend, that sort of thing.  Then, in the summer, they had player-only meetings where they watched a lot of film on how some of the great players do it.

“All that has helped them play a lot faster because they're not having to think about it,” said Davis.

Kleffner credits his approach to the game to former PSU lineman John Andreas ('97-'00), one of his Jesuit coaches.  “He was a lineman like me and more of a thinker… there are guys who are crazy on the field and guys who are thinkers, I'm more of a thinker, although I'm trying to be both because Coach Davis emphasizes playing with passion.”

He lists Andreas and Jesuit head coach Ken Potter (“he was just a great motivator”) as his mentors.

What about spare time activities?…well, several are listed on his bio sheet.

In reality, the question draws a laugh.  “Spare time?  Between football and studying there isn't much. I room with Myles (Wade) and Connor (Kavanaugh) and we hang out together and sometimes watch Netflix movies.”

A business major, Kleffner is carrying a 3.29 GPA and will graduate this spring.  He's considering trying for an MBA, but if you listen closely there's another calling which gets him excited.

He's particularly enjoyed classes in management and leadership,  “dealing with a variety of people and learning that what pleases one person may not please another.  It's a lot like football.  Coaches use a lot of the same techniques.”

Do they, indeed!  And does this mean Kleffner might be interested in coaching?

“Absolutely,” he responded without hesitation.  “I've played football for so long and it's had a lot of influence for good in my life.  I'd like to give back and maybe mentor someone else.”

He said he's tried to mentor some of the newer Vikings players.  “You know, not with football skills necessarily, but help them understand the commitment…. where to be, to be on time, that sort of thing.”

Davis credits Kleffner as seeing himself objectively. “He's his biggest critic and he wants to improve.  Every day in practice, he has one or two elements he wants to work on.”

And, so far, Kleffner's approach to the game seems to be paying off.

He was feeling good about the team's early play this season.  I've seen both sides of this program.  It's been great to see all the work that's been put in, and it looks as if it's paying off this season.”

As an example of the change which seems to have the PSU squad back on the right path, Kleffner said he really looks forward to going to practice “because the atmosphere is different.  The way we practice is exciting.  The team also feels closer together.  We're all in this together.  When I started, you only knew a few people.  Now, you know something about everyone.  It's not a bunch of strangers walking around out there.”

Right now, Kleffner is feeling pretty confident.  “Playing at Jeld-Wen is awesome.  It's a better stadium than at TCU… the stands, the field, the whole place is great.  But, we've got to keep improving as a team.  We've got to have the right attitude every game.  I think we've got potential for a very successful year.”