Congratulations. I have to ask you first, I just pulled up the video of you squatting 700 pounds.
"Yeah, yeah."
How was that?
"It was definitely great. Honestly I couldn't have done it without the guys around me. If you watch the video, you see how crazy they were going for me. It was really, I was riding that momentum and I just had to go and do it. I couldn't go and fail with all of them hyped up."
When did you sustain the ACL injury?
"It was about a few weeks ago. I can't remember the exact date."
When did you have the surgery performed?
"March 17th."
So, what do you know about the time frame? How are things going as you rehab and everything with you physically?
"Rehab's going great. I'm unsure of the timeline and everything, but I'm excited to get to San Francisco and continue my rehab just so I can get back out on the field as soon as possible."
What have they told you about how they are going to proceed through your rookie season?
"So far, I haven't really had any talks with them yet about how everything's going to go, but I'm sure I'll find out soon."
Had you had previous contact with the 49ers throughout the pre-draft process?
"Yes, I spoke to them a little bit during the NFL Combine, but besides that, I haven't really had that much contact with them."
What is your skillset? How do you project yourself? How do you see yourself playing at the next level, what role?
"As far as an athlete, I feel like I'm a well-balanced guy. I feel like I'm really stout against the run, violent hands, low pad level. And then against the pass I just use my quickness, instincts, you know, try to time the snap, stuff like that. And a lot of the things are just studying the offensive linemen that I play. I feel like that plays a very vital role in how I play, just knowing my opponent and the rest just comes natural when I go out there on game day."
There's a profile of you, a draft capsule on NFL.com that compares you to DL Ronald Blair III. Do you know of Ronald Blair and his game?
"I don't."
He's with the 49ers.
"Oh. Okay."
It seems that you guys had a really nice unit over there at NC State, obviously Denver Broncos LB Bradley Chubb was picked fifth. Can you describe how you worked with him as a teammate, what your role was, as opposed to Bradley's role, to make that line so good?
"Honestly we all worked together from Chubb to me, [Los Angeles Chargers DL] Justin [Jones], [New York Giants DL] B.J. [Hill], linebacker corps, our secondary corps. We worked together as a whole. We were all just one finally-tuned machine. I think what made us work so well together is we had built a bond of trust. No one was trying to do another man's job. We all knew that when we went out there to play, you know, everyone's going to go and execute and we're going to play as stacked as possible, and I think that's what made us as a whole team really good."
Now everyone on that starting defensive line has been drafted now. Can you talk about how that feels for you guys?
"It's outstanding. Because I mean, time goes by so fast. We were literally just talking about this our freshman year when we just got to NC State and to have it happen now is surreal. I was talking to the guys these last four, five days, constantly about how our dreams really are going to come true and now it's happened, and it's crazy. It's a blessed filled moment."
What kind of support did those guys give you after you tore your ACL and what's the process been like since then? Have you gotten over the shock of it and disappointment?
"It never was so much shock and disappointment. You know, I just knew it was another challenge ahead of me, and I knew I was going to be able to overcome it. I've been blessed throughout my whole career to not really be spanned with injuries and stuff and I think this is another challenge that God has put in front of me and I'm going to overcome it. My coaches and teammates, they didn't let me get my head down, anyway. They were just telling me, keep my head up, just another obstacle in the road and I've conquered bigger things in my life, so I just kept my head on straight.
What other challenges have you conquered in your life?
"It's a lot of things. I'm not really ready to get into those things like right now, but I've definitely conquered harder things than this."
Did the ACL happen during a workout with a team?
"Yes, sir. It happened with the New York Giants."
And that was in March?
"Yes."
When you guys played Notre Dame, did you go against T Mike McGlinchey at all?
"Yes, sir."
What was your experience like? What's your scouting report on McGlinchey?
"I feel like he's a really good player. He's probably the best offensive tackle that I've played since I was in college. He was a really well-balanced player, good hands, good pad level, and he was consistent. You know, it was, from the time that I played in college, you know, either they were really good at the run game or really good at the pass game. I never played any guys that were well-balanced, and he was the one that was well-balanced and he's just a really good player and I liked playing against him."
* Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers
