COURTESY OF LOS ANGELES CHARGERS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
On staying in Los Angeles to start his professional career:
“It’s amazing. I can’t describe how I feel right now. Just being with my family, playing at UCLA, and then just getting a call from the head coach — that’s special. It’s almost like a dream come true. I get to play locally in a place where I group in the area. For me, that’s humbling. It’s humbling for sure. I can’t wait to get started.”
On the Senior Bowl:
“It was tremendous. I got the opportunity to showcase myself in front of the nation’s best. There’s a lot of great prospects who were there. I just got a chance to showcase to coaches, scouts, and GMs what I could do. I think it really helped me that I played against great competition. I think it definitely did a lot.”
On his communication with the Chargers:
“We’ve definitely been in contact. I definitely talked to the running backs coach [Mark Ridgley], definitely talked to a lot of the scouts. So yeah, I’ve definitely been in contact with them.”
On where he feels he excels at running back:
“For me, I love outside-zone. I love gap-scheme, power. I just love running between the tackles. I like doing that a lot. I think that’s something I take pride in. I also think I’m versatile. So hopefully I get to use my skill set, but I’ll be doing whatever it takes.”
On how playing at UCLA helped prepare him for the NFL:
“Man, UCLA was a great place. Great coaches — [Running Backs Coach] DeShaun Foster, [Head Coach] Chip Kelly, Jim Mora. There’s a lot of great players and great coaches that I’ve come in contact with. I think Coach Kelly’s system definitely prepared me for the league. He coached in Philly, he coached in San Francisco. He definitely brought his philosophies to UCLA — a lot of the same pro-style running schemes. I have a lot of experience running it and I think that it’s something I do really well.”
On how he can improve as a running back:
“One thing I do need to absolutely get better in is pass protection. That’s something I need to be extremely better at, especially if I want to survive and play in this league. I also need to work on my route-running.”
On staying in Los Angeles:
“That’s super important, like you said. I feel like God has put me in this position. Going to UCLA, being from the area and being given the chance to play for the Chargers. Wow. I think there is definitely a level of responsibility that comes with that. Obviously, I have to perform. For me, I think it definitely is really just crazy to think about. Hopefully, I have an impact on the city, the fans and the people.”
On his strongest attributes as a running back:
“I have a good feel for running the ball. I’m just very instinctual as a runner. I have good vision. I run North and South, and don’t waste time going East and West. I always fall forwards. I have good ball security. I take pride in running, whether it’s outside-zone, inside-zone, power — I can do a lot of different things.”
On the possibility of being a kick returner:
“We haven’t talked about those things yet. For me, I’d love to do it. You know, I’ll take pride in any role they give me. I’ll just work hard and accept the opportunity.”
On starting his collegiate career at UC Davis and moving to the Pacific-12:
“I was a two-star [recruit] coming out of high school. I didn’t get a lot of national spotlight attention or anything, but I remember UC Davis. They came to me and offered me a full ride. They were my only one, so I was like, ‘I’m going to go here.’ Being there was great. They had great coaches and great players, too, but for me, I feel like I’ve always had this competitive drive. I felt like I could always compete and play in a Power Five conference. It’s always been a hunger of mine. I really made that decision to better myself after my sophomore year and transfer to UCLA.”
On his knowledge of the Chargers:
“I actually know a lot. I’m a football fan, so I watch a lot of teams. Especially the west coast teams that come on at 1 p.m., my time, so I watched a lot of their games. Their backfield is amazing. [RB] Austin Ekeler is great, [RB] Justin Jackson a great runner. They have awesome players, and I know a lot about this team — especially since they are in LA, too. I know a lot about the Chargers, their history, their coaches.”
On his ability to make catches out of the backfield:
“Yeah, I definitely think I can do that. At UCLA it was limited. One thing I’ve always told scouts and everybody is this — just because you haven’t been asked to do it doesn’t mean you can’t do it. I definitely showcased that at the Senior Bowl, at the combine — I’m very comfortable doing it and I can do it.”
On his persistence to get into UCLA:
“It was kind of crazy. I remember once I transferred from UC Davis, the school told me, ‘Hey, if you’re looking to stay in-state, you can probably transfer — so I reached out to USC and they shut the door on me immediately, told me they weren’t interested. I reached out to UCLA and got in contact with Coach Foster. He entertained it, kept calling me back. He said he wanted to see a highlight tape, so I gave him one. Then I had to try out. I showed up, did some work. It took a process, man. I had to keep calling, and calling. I was persistent, and it paid off.”
On getting to stay in Los Angeles:
“Yeah, man, I couldn’t believe it. That was awesome. That was cool, man. I’m excited, obviously excited. I just can’t wait to make them feel like they made the right choice. I have to get to work.”
