**We apologize for the glitch in Dave Lapham's audio.**

Cincinnati Bengals rookie linebacker Maema Njongmeta had never suffered pain like he did when told he'd made the Bengals' 53-man roster.

Days later, he was recovering from smiling so hard for achieving a major athletic goal, becoming an official member of an NFL team after having a breakthrough training camp and preseason.

Despite all his athletic achievements, Njongmeta is still working on reaching the level of his parents academically as the family continues to add to their total number of degrees.

Njongmeta joined Dave Lapham In The Trenches, presented by First Star Logistics, to discuss his success on and off the field leading up to his successful run as a professional football player.