Johns Hopkins senior midfielder Stephen Peyser is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound specimen with bowling balls for biceps and granite slabs for calves. And yet, when he talks, people listen because he’s thoughtful and introspective.

A feature on Peyser is slated to run tomorrow, but here a few snippets from a 30-minute interview conducted on Thursday. Peyser revealed that even though his older brothers Michael and Greg had attended and played for Johns Hopkins, he was torn between committing to the Blue Jays or Virginia.

"I remember the night when I committed to Hopkins, it was literally, 'Dial one number or dial the other,'" he recalled. "It was that close. And I can’t thank myself enough for making the right decision."

When I asked him what tipped the scales to the Blue Jays, Peyser replied, "What tipped the scales was Coach Petro’s [Dave Pietramala’s] loyalty to me and to my family and to the faith that he showed in me throughout the recruiting process. No coach ever did that, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play for a guy like him."

Peyser, who has been facing off since he was a fifth grader, said his toughest opponents were Loyola’s Dan Kallaugher and Syracuse’s Danny Brennan.

"They’re real scrappy guys who know how to work," Peyser said. "The face-off position is all about knowing how to work – how to work the stick, how to work the ref, how to work the whistle. Those guys are the best at it."

Peyser, a political science major, has already lined up a job with J.P. Morgan after graduation, but the job doesn’t start until Sept. 15. He would like to play with his brothers for the New Jersey Pride of the Major Lacrosse League, but he also said that he wants to stay here.

"I don’t really want to run away from Baltimore too quickly," Stephen Peyser said. "I just realized in the past six months that I really do love Baltimore, and I don’t think it was like that my whole time here. I want to stay for a little bit and not run out of here."