Feb. 27, 2011
Q. What have you done to help you excel at the combine?
A. "I've just been taking it day by day, trying to maximize my days, and working real hard with all those guys out in Orange County:
Jake Locker, Ryan Kerrigan, he pushes us all. I'm out there with a great group of guys."
Q. Height, weight?
A. 6-2 1/2, 246.
Q. About your stock rising because of Senior Bowl performance?
A. "Honestly, I haven't even noticed it. I've just been taking it day by day, one day at a time. That's for all the fans and stuff,
that's for my mom and `nem. I just take it day by day and trying to maximize my days and come April, see where I end up."
Q. Something about working out?
A. I've been working out real hard. I've been working out with Ryan Kerrigan, so that had to come from somewhere."
Q. Why did your sacks drop so much from your junior to senior year?
A. "Probably because wins went up. We had a better defense this year. I had more responsibilities this year, more responsibilities in coverage.
We were winning games, so the sacks really didn't matter to me. As long as we were winning games, I was good."
Q. How much did the ankle injury affect you early?
A. "In football, you are going to get hurt, you're going to have injuries. So honestly, it really didn't affect me none. I really couldn't
go full speed or anything like that but we were still winning games. We were still playing good football, good defense.
Everything was all good with me."
Q. How were you able to put on some weight?
A. "I been eating like crazy. It's all been good weight, though."
Q. What did you play at this year?
A. "I started the season at about 243 and ended about 237."
Q. What are you going to bring to the table for the team that picks you?
A. "First and foremost, I'm going to be a great teammate. I'm a team guy. That's how I play football. That's how we were able to win the games
that we won at Texas A&M. We didn't have all the talent in the world, but we had a great team. We had great chemistry in the locker room. I'll be
a rookie, whatever those guys want me to do, I'll be happy to do it. Just find me way, find my role. Whatever it takes to get on the field, that's what I'll do."
Q. Hard to hear the question but I think he's asked what players he admires?
A. "I like the way Clay Matthews plays. I like all those guys, DeMarcus Ware. I just try to be the best player I can be. I really can't be
any of those great players but Clay Matthews, his fanatical effort to the ball and all of that stuff, I try to accumulate that into my game.
I can never ever play like Clay Matthews but the way he attacks the ball, his relentless effort to the football, I can do that, though."
Q. Mike Sherman has said you matured over the last year. Do you think that's true, since you decided to stay in Aggieland for your Sr year.
A. "A little bit. I'm still the same guy I was last year. But when you got young guys looking at you, you got to grow up real fast. I wanted to
set a good example for all my teammates and all my brothers back at Texas A&M. You are going to mess up some days but I just tried to stack days
and be the best leader I could be."
Q. So many teams running a 3-4 now, is this a perfect time to be coming out of a college as an outside linebacker with pass rush skills?
A. "It's a great time to be a linebacker. It's a great time to be a linebacker every year. I don't just label myself as an outside 3-4 linebacker.
I want to be the best defensive player in this year's draft. That may be in a 3-4, a 4-3, a 5-2, I just want to play football and get on the field."
Q. The Texans have switched to a 3-4. How great would it get to stay in state?
A. "It would be great to play for the Houston Texans, an hour away from Aggieland. It's a strong Aggie following, all over the world but
particularly in Houston. We've got a lot of fans out there; it's an hour away from College Station. Houston and Dallas, they both have a lot
of Aggies there. I think it would be great to play for the Aggies and the Houston Texans for previous years to come."
Q. Why did you feel like you needed to gain weight?
A. "Honestly, I didn't even know I put on that weight. I was just working hard just trying to maximize days, finish all my reps and eating
all my food. I was just trying to work out at the best of my ability. I hadn't weighed myself for about a week and half. I stepped on the scale
and it said, `246', I was like, `whoa.' I just want to be the best football player I can be. I just want to get bigger, stronger, faster.
And I guess I'm really bigger."
Q. Agent?
A. "Athletes First. David Dunn, Joby Branion and Brian Murphy.
Q. Playing for Mike Sherman?
A. "It's great. Coach Sherman is like a father to me. He's never, ever lied to me. He's always gave me great advice and directed me in the
right way. He's been part of every major decision I've had, all the way up from my freshman year. I just love coach Sherman.
"Most people think he's really a tough guy like that, but he has a dry sense of humor. I love everything about that program. I love Texas A&M,
love Coach Sherman and what we got done this year."
Q. How about playing for the Texans and coach Kubiak, an Aggie
A. "I know a lot about the Houston Texans. Like I say, they are just an hour away from College Station. They have Coach (Reggie) Herring,
he was at Texas A&M for like two weeks. Coach Wade Phillips with the 3-4 defense. Coach Kubiak, a great Aggie. And like I said, it's only
an hour away from Texas A&M."
Q. Where do you fit in a 4-3?
A. "My God-given ability is speed off the edge, just rushing. I can drop back into coverage and do all that other stuff, too, but what God
has blessed me with is pass rushing off the edge."