The Harvard alum always makes sure to go to Pinocchio's in Harvard Square, where he orders two slices of pizza and a cheeseburger sub.
"I'll tell you what," Fitzpatrick said, "I think I put on about 25 pounds in college from that one meal."
Fitzpatrick might have a little extra cash to spend on his lunches in the near future, as he and the Bills are reportedly working on a contract extension. Fitzpatrick wouldn't get into details about the deal, preferring to keep the conversation centered on the field — or Harvard, for that matter. That's a topic he's become very familiar with discussing.
"I'm 'the Harvard guy' everywhere, every day, but you know what, there are worse things to be called, worse things to be known by, I guess," Fitzpatrick said. "To me, I take a tremendous amount of pride in going to school there, playing there, graduating from Harvard. I know that sometimes people use it as kind of a joke or a sarcastic comment or whatever it is, but I take a tremendous amount of pride in the fact that I went to school there. I think it's a good thing."
It's been a good year for the Buffalo signal caller. The 28-year-old had been a career backup until getting his shot early last season, and he made the most of his opportunity, throwing for 3,000 yards, 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 13 games.
Prior to the lockout, the Bills brass told him he would be the starter in 2011 and maybe beyond. Since Buffalo didn't draft a quarterback, it's been Fitzpatrick's job since the workouts started at the end of July. That level of comfort might have led to his hot start, as he's thrown for 472 yards and seven touchdowns while leading the Bills to a pair of victories this season.
"[The Bills] didn't tell me they weren't going to draft [a quarterback]," Fitzpatrick recalled about the conversation with management. "They said if there's one there that we think can be a franchise guy for 10-12 years, we'll probably draft him. But they did tell me regardless of what was going to happen in the draft, I was going to be their starter for this year and hopefully into the future. It was a vote of confidence with that conversation. It was a vote of confidence when they didn't draft a quarterback with that first pick, and I'm hoping to be around here for a long time."
