COURTESY OF TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
(On his conversation with Head Coach Bruce Arians)
“It was a quick phone call. I spoke to Coach [Bruce] Arians a little bit and they told me I’d be playing with [Ndamukong] Suh and Lavonte David. It’s an honor – it’s an honor to play with them. I’ve looked up to them just being a ‘Blackshirt’ for five years. It’s awesome. I can’t wait to get to work and just learn from both of them.”
(On what the draft process was like for him)
“The draft process was long. I really didn’t know where I was going to get drafted, or at the beginning of this process, even drafted at all. I knew what I was capable of and once the Combine happened, I knew that I would probably get drafted. It was just a matter of when, but I’m thankful that somebody took a chance on me and I’m excited and ready to work.”
(On where he fits in within the Buccaneers defense)
“I see myself at 3-tech, in that range of 2-wide, three [or] two – in that range. I can move around, so I’ll be able to play anywhere.”
(On how much he moved around on the defensive line while playing at Nebraska)
“A lot – I played from a six to a five to a three to a two-wide, two [and] all the way down to a zero, so I played everything at Nebraska.”
(On resisting the urge to campaign for the Buccaneers to draft his brother, Carlos)
“They should do everything in their power to go get him because I would love to play with him. That’s probably not going to happen, but I just hope he gets his chance also.”
(On if it is true that his parents had to install a second refrigerator to keep up with the eating habits of him and his brother growing up)
“Yes, that is true. They had to get a second refrigerator in their room and their grocery bills just got way too expensive my senior year because of both of us. It was hard for them to keep up with that, but yeah, they did have to get a second refrigerator.”
(On playing against new teammate Tristan Wirfs in college)
“I did go up against him a few times. I didn’t know he was that athletic. I remember watching at the Combine – watching his 40 – and I said there’s no way he’s faster than me. And I said if I can’t run faster than that then I’m going to be upset. He’s a great player. I only went up against him a few times, but he’s very athletic.”
(On how a player his size being as fast and athletic as he is)
“My parents kept me active as a kid. I started running track when I was around nine or ten – competitively like U.S.A. and AAU track before I started to throw. I did swimming. I was just in a lot of sports that kept me active and always on my feet moving.”
(On how often he was eating that required two refrigerators in his house)
“Me and Carlos [Davis] were on a strict diet of a pack of 12 boneless chicken thighs and a can of corn. We ate that almost every night. The packs like eight, 10, 12, and it was never enough so we had to get a pack of our own. They would just stuff the refrigerators with that and a can of corn and a pack of chicken thighs were gone every day.”
(On who is taller, bigger, and oldest between him and twin brother Carlos Davis)
“Carlos is an inch taller, he’s bigger, and he’s older. I’m the younger one of the two.”
(On if the chicken thighs and corn were for the whole day or one meal)
“That was just for one meal.”
(On how much he ate in a day)
“During football season, so like football season, we only had to eat dinner and sometimes breakfast at the house. That dinner meal was heavy, it was a lot. My mom, thank goodness for her because she was cooking for us, and had to cook that a lot for us.”
(On his community service being important to him)
“Growing up I always had a lot of friends around me that did a lot of community work and a lot of my family traditions were doing community work – going to harvesters. That’s a big thing here in Kansas City, going there and handing out cans. We did a lot service projects during Christmas Eve where we would go feed the homeless and just throughout my time in high school until now, I loved doing it. I love giving back and my major was education and human sciences, so I’ll be working with kids at some point. I just love giving back to kids because for me when I was younger, I was just amazed at the older guys and what it did for me as kid. I want to that for other people.”
(On if he is in Blue Springs, Missouri right now)
“Yes, sir – Blue Springs.”
(On Blue Springs being close to Kansas City)
“Yes, sir.”
