FOXBOROUGH, Mass -- New England Patriots rookie center Bryan Stork adopts an all-business, all-football approach. With his burly red beard and stoic facial expressions, he also has an intimidating look that makes him a nice fit on the team's offensive line.

But behind it all is a 24-year-old who has been through a lot in his life. Stork’s father, who was also his best friend, passed away in 2008 after battling cancer.

“I always wanted to hang out with my dad,” Stork said. “He was always working a lot. I knew he worked hard and I wanted to do the same.”

Bryan Stork grew up as a big fan of Brett Favre and the Packers. Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Stork took his father’s lessons of hard work and poured his passion into the game of football. And it has paid off so far.

Stork shares his “football journey” as part of our weekly feature:

When he first started playing football: “Organized [football] in fifth grade. But I had a pair of pads when I was 5 years old. So I was running around in them all the time. I slept in them. I'm not kidding [about that].”

First position he played: “Fullback for a day and then quarterback. And linebacker, defensive line and kicker.”

Role models: “I definitely looked up to Brett Favre. I grew up a Packers fan. I would say my dad, too.”

Favorite players other than Brett Favre: “I liked pretty much everyone on the Packers -- Robert Brooks, Reggie White.”

His dad’s pizza parlor: “We had a mom-and-pop Italian restaurant. I was working from the time I was 4 or 5. I could make a pizza by the time I was probably 5 years old. I could still make a pizza if I had to. It’s like riding a bike, you don’t forget it. They were always good.”

What he wanted to be when he grew up: “I either wanted to be a pilot or a football player when I was a kid because [my dad] was a pilot as well.”

Plans to be a pilot still? “I tried getting my license a couple of years ago back in Tallahassee, but I was too big to fit in the plane. The guy said it wasn’t safe for me to learn how to fly. Bummer.”

When he became hooked on football: “I think it was my brother that played high school and he brought home his helmet and there’s also a picture of him holding me watching the Dallas Cowboys win a Super Bowl. I vaguely remember Deion Sanders standing up with the Lombardi above his head. That’s probably the earliest memory of football that I have.”

Story behind his NFL tattoo: “I was 15 years old and my dad wanted to get a tattoo as well. Me and my dad were like buddies because we lived together, just me and him down in Florida. He had cancer and so I don’t know why, but he got a tattoo with a crab on it -- that stands for cancer, the zodiac sign. That’s the first time he beat [cancer]. And he was like, 'Well, you can get a tattoo as well,' so he signed off on that. I didn't know what to get and said, 'I guess I will get an NFL tattoo and if I don’t make it, I’m going to look really stupid. So I better make it.'"

Making it in the NFL: “You never make it. I’m [still] just trying to make it.”

Favorite football memory at Vero Beach High School: “We were always 9-3, second round of playoffs. I really enjoyed my junior year of playing. It was fun. I played tight end, caught some passes. I dated a cheerleader. It was kind of like the perfect high school [year] ... but it really was not. It was football. It was fun. I enjoyed the guys. And I played a lot of defense that year, which I really enjoyed.”

Moving around to various positions: “I was a strong-side tackle -- whatever way we ran the ball, I went to that side and then sophomore year I got thrown into the fire and had to play left tackle on varsity. During that following spring Coach [Gary] Coggin threw a football at me and said, 'Hey Stork, catch it.' And I caught it. And he said I was going to try tight end. I played mostly tight end my junior year and then senior year I had to go to tackle. I think I played right tackle.”

Why he chose Florida State: “In Vero Beach, everybody is a Florida fan and I couldn’t stand those kids that went to Florida. A couple of my buddies were Florida State fans and I thought it would be so cool to go play there because we were always playing [NCAA Football video game]. And they came knocking. I always liked Coach [Bobby] Bowden.”

Sporting a beard: “I never knew I had a red beard until I was a junior in high school. I grew out a goatee and it was red and people thought I dyed it. I think it was 2012 and I just quit shaving after camp and just let it go and go and it just kept getting longer and then it just became a thing. It’s easy not to shave [laughs]. The red beard ... It’s the Irish.”

On playing with Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston: “It was a good time. Believe it or not, he’s more grown-up than you think. As far as football, he knows his stuff pretty well. He’s a very intelligent kid. Definitely had some good memories with him playing football.”

On winning the Rimington Award for the nation’s top center: “It wasn’t an individual award. They say they are individual awards, but I had good guys playing next to me that helped me out and I helped them out. That was just a whole team effort. Everybody got awards that year and it’s just because we all played for each other and everybody got what they wanted.”

On winning a national championship in his final year: “I can always lay my head down at night knowing I gave it my all in college. I never have to look back or think back on something like that knowing that I went out the best the way I could possibly go. I’ve moved on now and trying to make the best of where I’m at now.”

His nickname of 'Papa' or 'Grandpa' at FSU: “It’s because I was there forever. I did the whole five-year plan, so they called me 'Pops'. Yeah, I definitely [embraced it].”

Pre-draft workout with Bill Belichick: “I was so excited. I was up -- I don’t think we had to be there until 8 in the morning -- but I was up at 5, getting my mind ready to go because I know how Coach Belichick is and I wanted to be a part of his team. And lo and behold, here I am.”

His label as a Belichick type of guy: “You can never be his guy. You have to keep working at it, and working at it, and working at it. I’ll never be there, but I have to keep working at it. You know what I mean?”

Going from national championship team to the Patriots: “Now it’s the NFL, anybody can win on any day. It wasn’t like we could just walk out there and steamroll. It doesn’t work like that. This is the National Football League and you have to be ready for anything.”

If he ever thought he would be a starter with Tom Brady: “I just took it day by day and I’m still taking it day by day. I could be the backup tomorrow. There’s no telling."

On what it’s like to play with Brady: “It’s definitely cool. It’s just like any other quarterback -- you need a good snap to get it to the quarterback so the quarterback can make the play or throw or hand it off. So you just have to make sure you get it right. I’m a fiery guy, too. So [Brady’s passion] works.”

On Brady’s comments about his sweatiness: “I guess we are practicing for a rainy day [laughs].”

Relationship with the offensive line: “We’re good. It’s kind of weird because they are all older than I am, they all have families and kids and I’m single and young. I go home to nothing and they go home to wives and kids. But we will hear a song from the '90s and I will be like, 'Dan [Connolly] were you in high school when this song came out? He’s like, 'I was in third grade.'”

Summing up his football journey: “It’s been fun. It’s been the longest, hardest, but most fun thing I’ve ever done and it’s not over yet. So hopefully I still have a long way to go.”