COURTESY OF LOS ANGELES RAMS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
(On his thoughts on joining the Rams)
“I’m excited. I’m just ready to get that work in and basically start this whole new journey, this whole new chapter in my life.”
(On what the draft process was like with the Rams and if he met with them at the NFL Combine and how many interactions he had)
“I talked to them at the Senior Bowl and the combine. It wasn’t really any informal meetings. I know I met with the position coach a lot, talked to him a lot at the combine. We kind of set it off, kind of got a feel for each other. I know a couple of former people from the Alabama program where they’ve all been to the Rams organization. We talked a couple of times. We basically talked mainly at the combine and at the Senior Bowl, talked to the position coach and then for the most part, that was it.”
(On if he was surprised when the Rams called to pick him)
“No, I wasn’t surprised. I knew that me and the outside linebacker coach, we had a good relationship from just our meeting at the combine and us picking each other’s brains and talking ball. He stressed it to me that, ‘Hey, we need a guy like you in our defensive system. We need an edge guy and you fit our system. You know our system.’ It’s kind of similar to Alabama’s. I wasn’t technically surprised, but I was still like, ‘Okay, I don’t know if L.A. is going to pick me or not.’”
(On replacing Falcons DE Dante Fowler Jr.)
“That’s definitely something you’ve got to live up to, but I don’t have no problem with that. I think, if anything, I’m just excited about the fact that I’m going to be a Ram, get to play along guys like (CB) Jalen Ramsey and (DT) Aaron Donald and guys like that and get in where I fit in a contribute as much as possible.”
(On if he thinks his injuries from college set him back and if that caused him to slide lower in the draft than he otherwise would have been had he been healthy)
“Yeah, I’m sure it played a factor in it, but nonetheless, I got picked. I’m in an organization and just getting off the phone with the Rams, they told me how much they believe in me and my abilities. They can’t wait to display it to every other team that passed up on me and I can’t wait either. Just ready to get to work and make everybody else pay for the wait that they made me wait.”
(On what teams asked him to do to demonstrate his health)
“To me, it wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary. They kind of examined my knee, obviously with the MRI. From that point, just kind of check your mobility of the knee, see if anything bothers you or not. From that point, everything was good.”
(On if he has spent much time in Los Angeles)
“I’ve been L.A. twice. Both of them were kind of very short lived. I’ve been to L.A., kind of got a feel for it, but nothing too long to where I got to really enjoy L.A. and enjoy the atmosphere. Just kind of checked out the scenery and check out training spots and that was about it.”
(On why he thinks players that come from the University of Alabama are so prepared to make the jump to play in the NFL)
“I think we go through an NFL process in college. So, I think our daily process that we go through prepares us so well for the NFL. Whether it just be studying and watching film, how to conduct yourself when it comes to preparation, weight room, balance as far as lifting and school, and things of that nature. Just the terminology that we talk as far as just football wise, learning the X’s and O’s, and learning the situational part of football and schemes and coverages and different things that go into just everything that a coach, and especially what NFL coach, thinks about, we dissect it from a player’s perspective. Just being in a system like that, they definitely make you understand the game of football, understand the game of football, what goes into it, situations that you may come across and other things like that to the point where when you get to the NFL, you know the game.”
(On if he is familiar with RB Cam Akers and WR Van Jefferson)
“Yeah, I’ve met both of those guys and know both of those guys through the pre-draft process. Me and Cam Akers, we were both at an all-star classic in Dallas. Then me and Van Jefferson trained together during the pre-draft process at Michael Johnson (MJP).”
(On what his strengths are and what he wants to improve on coming into the NFL)
“I think my strengths are definitely just my speed and get-off, and being able to get off the ball very quickly and instinctively. Obviously using my length, I think using my length is a big advantage of mine. I would say one thing that I want to get better at is probably just being more consistent as far as with my hand usage.”
(On what it’s going to be like to be DT Aaron Donald’s teammate)
“I know that I won’t be able to be double teamed and I’ll kind of take the pressure off of him. So, I think it’ll be something that we can both benefit off of, being able to contribute and help him, take a load off of him, and he take a load off of me.”
(On what he thinks his chances are to contribute right away as a rookie with an opportunity to play at his position)
“I think it’s a high chance that I contribute to be a substantial player for the Rams defense.”
(On if he has spent much time in L.A.)
“No, not really. I’ve been out there twice.”
(On if he liked L.A.)
“Oh yeah, I definitely love it. There’s definitely a lot to do, I didn’t get to experience everything, but you can definitely tell just from the scenery, how active the city is. You can find a numerous amount of things to do. Obviously, you see everybody, which they love being in LA.”
(On where he is watching the draft from and who he is celebrating with)
“I’m in D.C., Maryland area. I’m actually with a lot of my main, immediate family – my mom, little sister, grandma, cousin and then just a few little league coaches and mentors that kind of helped me from when I was young to get to this point.” (On who has been his biggest influence on and off the field) “On and off the field, I would probably say mainly my mom and my mentor and my trainer, Sean Washington.”
