Growing up with two older, football-playing brothers, Delano offensive and defensive lineman Christian Triplett got used to being on the short end of some physical battles.

But time passed and Triplett, the youngest brother of former Gophers linebacker Nate Triplett, became the biggest of the three, which includes middle brother Eric. Reaching 6-4 and 290 pounds, Triplett began to hold his own and even won his fair share, he said. And gradually the tussles became less frequent.

“That got kind of old,” Christian said with a laugh. “They were always pushing on me. Then I got bigger and stronger, and I showed them if they could do that, I could do it, too.”

So far, Triplett has received heard from recruiters at North Dakota State and Iowa. He talked with Jim Paulsen about Delano’s undefeated season to date and the college football offer he hopes will come his way.

Q: Are you surprised that the team is 5-0 right now?

A: A little bit. I thought we might be a little shaky on the offensive line this year, because we really didn’t know each other that well. But we’re playing great. We have a freshman center, Walker Russek, who is playing exceptionally well.

Q: Have you helped him much?

A: I’ve shown him quite a bit. He has an older brother, Wyatt, who plays guard right next to him. He can be rough on him sometimes.

Q: All in the name of making him better, right?

A: Yes. He’s helping. That’s the life of a lineman.

Q: Talk about the great start.

A: We are doing pretty much everything right. The line is blocking well, the running backs have been getting off the blocks and hitting the holes. And the defense has been great.

Q: Your defense has given up more than one touchdown only once this season. Why?

A: We’ve been really good at stopping the run. That makes it a lot harder for teams.

Q: What position do you play on defense?

A: Defensive tackle, but if we go to a three-man line, I play nose tackle.

Q: Your responsibilities?

A: Mostly stopping the run. But I can barrel through in passing situations. I’m bigger than most guys I go against.

Q: Would you rather stone a running back on fourth-and-1 or make the pancake block that springs a touchdown run?

A: I don’t know. They both sound great to me.

Q: What have you done more?

A: Probably the pancake block. We’ve had the ball on offense a lot this year.

Q: You play at defending Class 4A champion Hutchinson on Friday. Both teams are undefeated. Your feelings on the game?

A: This is the game we’ve been preparing for since the first day of practice. We know it’s going to be an all-out brawl. It’s going to be tough to concentrate on school this week.

Q: Nate had a great career at Minnesota. Have you heard from the Gophers?

A: I’ve gone to games and I’ve talked to a few coaches, but right now, there’s not much going on. Minnesota has always been the school I’ve thought about, but it was nice to watch Iowa play Saturday, too.

JIM PAULSEN