By David Driver/Special Correspondent

Owings Mills, Md. (GoThunderWolves.com - Nov. 29, 2013) - During this college and pro football season, Ryan Jensen, a former standout for the ThunderWolves, has kept in touch with CSU-Pueblo had coach John Wristen and Chris Symington, his former offensive line coach.

And Jensen, now a rookie offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, has sent text messages to fellow center Scotland Coyle and other members of the current squad as they prepare for their Nov. 30 playoff tilt with perennial Division II power, Grand Valley State.

"I talk quite a bit with my offensive line coach and old head coach," he says. "We have a pretty good relationship. I throw out a couple of jabs to the guys to see how they are doing. It is a good relationship."

So how does Jensen, drafted by the defending Super Bowl champions in the sixth round earlier this year, begin to convey the life of a first-year pro player in the NFL to those still in college?

"It is something hard to explain when they ask that kind of question," says Jensen, standing outside the Ravens' dressing room following a recent morning practice. "It is a time-consuming effort. In school you have class and practice and then more work at night."

"In the NFL it is football all day," adds Jensen, listed at 6-foot-4 and 318 pounds. "You go to practice and you go home and study it some more. It is all about football. You are not trying to have a balancing act" like in college.

Jensen has made the transition to the NFL with a team that prides itself on the draft and player development with stability at the top with general manager Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh for a team that has made the playoffs the past four years.

A graduate of Fort Morgan High School in Fort Morgan, Colo., Jensen has tried to soak in as much knowledge as he can about playing on the offensive line from Baltimore veterans.

"We have some great offensive linemen, some very good mentors," Jensen says. "A lot of times I watch them how they carry themselves on the field and I try to imitate those things."

One of those players is All-Pro lineman Marshal Yanda, a native of Iowa and a former standout at the University of Iowa.

"He is a tough guy," Jensen notes. "He goes out and does his job the best he can, being as physical as he can on every player. I try to imitate that."

Jensen returned to practice in October after he suffered a broken foot in practice this past summer after he had been drafted by the Ravens.

He said it was good to get back on the field after watching his teammates begin the season without him on the field.

"I was very sore the next day. It was really good to get back there on the field, being out there with the guys and not just watching," he says. "You feel like you are not contributing to the team. You want to go out there and grind with the guys. That is a lot better than being on the sidelines."

Jensen continued to practice with the team through November but was still waiting his first game action in the NFL. He certainly wants to be prepared when the time comes after he did not see game action in the first 12 contests.

"I come to work every day and bust my butt and get ready for when my number is called," he says. "I put my head down and wait until my number is called."

Off the field he has made just a few outings to see the sites in his new hometown of Baltimore.

"I have been out a couple of times to see the city," he says. "We don't get a lot of time to go out and see a lot of things, but (Baltimore) is nice."

Earlier this fall his parents paid him a visit for a few days and watched the Ravens play at home at M&T Bank Stadium near the Inner Harbor. They also took in the sites of nearby Washington, D.C. for the first time. "It was a good experience for them to see where their boy lives," Jensen says.

So what does it mean for a Division II product to make the NFL?

"It is great for the program and great for the town," Jensen says. "It shows a lot of kids that if they have a dream they can play at the next level, even if they have to go to a Division II school. It is my way of giving back to them."

Earlier this season Jensen had hoped to see some of his former coaches in person when the Ravens played at Denver on Sept. 5. But CSU-Pueblo was preparing for its season opener at Northern Colorado.

Now he hopes the Ravens can follow in the footsteps of the ThunderWolves and make a post-season run.

Editor's note: David Driver, a free-lance writer from Maryland, has written several features on Ravens' players for hometown newspapers, websites and magazines over the past 10 years. He has contributed to the athletic websites of several Division I and II schools. He was the first sports editor of the daily Baltimore Examiner and can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com