Here is the second of three parts of PFDebate’s interview with 2005 NFL Champion James Colston.

4. The topic for Nationals was College Prep vs. Vocational Education. Did you enjoy debating it more than other topics you saw throughout the year?

I hated that topic. There were so many other things that we could have talked about. The last few years, it seems like the nationals topic has been biased toward one side, and I don’t like that. You shouldn’t be at a disadvantage before you even get a chance to speak. There were all knds of interesting things going on that we could have debated. That’s one of the good things about Public Forum. The topics can be relevant to what’s actually occurring day-to-day. The last two topics (vo ed and aptitude testing) were my least favorite of all. My favorites this year were probably importing prescription drugs, mandatory retirement for Supreme Court justices, and flat tax.

5. You won the final round by a fairly large margin. Were you confident you had won the debate?

No. We were on edge until we found out. That last round was definitely not my personal best, so I was unhappy with the way I had performed. We have a lot of respect for Lindsay and Adam [Lindsay Bayham & Adam Schneider from Ladue Horton Watkins HS in Missouri], and from what I understand, they are still in school and should be back next year. I expect them to continue to do very well. We had no idea it would be a 13-2 or anything close to that.

6. What are some of the prizes and things you received as a result of your win?

Audrey and I each received a $5,000 scholarship from Lincoln Financial. We were also offered full scholarships at Western Kentucky University, which is a great debate school, that we decided to take. It’s really changed everything for us.