In popular pro football terminology, T.J. Lang is a “road grader.”

 In other words, at 6-foot-4, 318 pounds he can pretty much mow down everything in front of him and plow a path for the running back. Speed, power, reliability … all those characteristics are necessary ingredients for successful NFL offensive linemen like the Green Bay Packer second-year tackle/guard.

 So is it any wonder Lang’s eyes lit up when he was given the opportunity to take a powerful Dixie Chopper Classic zero-turn mower for a spin?

 The 22-year-old Lang, a product of Eastern Michigan University, was visiting Indiana for a July 19 Greencastle Youth Football League fundraiser. That morning, Lang accompanied his former EMU coach, Josh Buis, to Dixie Chopper headquarters to meet the folks who build “The World’s Fastest Lawn Mower.”

 Buis, a former football star himself at nearby South Putnam High School and DePauw University, remembered working summers on the assembly line at Dixie Chopper. “I put the front wheels on the mowers,” he proudly told Lang.

After touring the Dixie Chopper manufacturing facilities, Lang got a brief lesson in zero-turn mower operations from Vice President Jeff Haltom before storming up and down the asphalt driveway like a pulling guard with a full head of steam. The obvious smile on his face made it easy to see that riding a fast, powerful Dixie Chopper mower was a little more fun than two-a-day football drills under the hot July sun.

 When the brief ride was over, Lang said his summer respite will come to an end when training camp begins on July 31 in Green Bay. Lang and Dixie Chopper will cross paths again on Aug. 26 when the Packers host the Indianapolis Colts in an ESPN-televised game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Dixie Chopper is the Official Lawn Mower of the Indianapolis Colts.