On the Eagles interest in him: "I talked to their scouts several times. I didn't go there for a pre-draft visit, but I talked to (Tom Melvin) the Coach at the combine, the tight end coach and he said he liked me and would be a great fit for the organization; a tight end that can block, play lots of different positions, run routes well, and catch also. I'm just excited for the opportunity."
On his pro-day workout: "At the combine I ran 4.68 seconds (forty yard dash) and at my pro-day I ran 4.57 (forty yard dash) seconds. At the combine I benched 30 repetitions; I jumped 40 inches in the vertical at the combine, and 10 feet in the broad jump at the combine."
On his possible leap from rookie free agent to mid-round pick after his workout: "No, I knew the scouts that came through and had watched my film, they knew what kind of player I was and that I could do a lot of different things and they told me I was a fourth or fifth round guy, third some people even said. They just knew how athletic I was and see what I was going to do at the combine. I knew when I got a chance to go to the combine that I'm an athlete; I have my high school long jump record still, I was in the Illinois State dunk contest three times in high school and I played basketball. I knew I would do well in all the events at the combine and it would only help me."
On what his long jump record is: "I jumped 22 feet and 2 inches."
On where he trained before the combine: "I trained at IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Florida."
On whether he had any major Division One offers coming out of high school: "No I didn't. I was a wide receiver in high school and I went to a really small high school. I played wide receiver and had 20 touchdowns, 1,100 yards, six interceptions at safety on defense and that was just from a small school, so everybody thought that the reason I was so good was because of the competition I was playing against. When I got to college, my first couple of years I was a receiver and I switched to tight end and I gained 50 pounds in college and I became a really good blocker. I love hitting people, I love being physical and I've been playing receiver since fourth grade. I can catch the ball and I ran 4.55 second (forty yard dash), so I can stretch the field. Everything just took off once I got to college."
On his size out of high school: "I was 200 pounds even."
On his room to grow physically: "I hit the weights hard when I first got to college and I kept gaining weight. So what happened was two of our tight ends got hurt and I was our biggest wide receiver, so they said 'how do I feel about tight end' and I said heck yea, I'll give it a shot and I'll gain some weight. They moved me to tight end and the rest is history. I always knew I could gain some weight. I'm a big weight room guy and I like lifting. That's one of my things, I'm really strong and I like lifting weights. So I just did that and gained it all, 52 pounds in college."
On his interview sessions before the combine: "Every team I talked to at the combine, I had seven pre-draft visits, a lot of teams flew me out and they were blown away by how much football I knew. Like, wow, we didn't know how smart of a player you were, you talk well, you understand offense and if he had a grade for football knowledge I'd get an A. I feel like I can comprehend stuff, I can read defenses, read coverages and that's one of my strengths. All the scouts and coaches told me that they were impressed with how well-spoken I was and the way I interviewed, so that was definitely a plus."
On where he fits in with the Eagles: "No concerns at all. Brent Celek is a great player and I am looking forward to learning from one of the best in the business. Obviously if they draft you then they have a plan for you. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to play hard and I'm going to work hard. I can do a lot of different things; I can play fullback, slot, halfback, and I plan on doing that. Whatever the coaches want me to do, I'll do it. I'm going to make a name for myself on special teams as well. I like to hit people and I'm definitely going to run down the field and make some plays on special teams as well."
On whether there is anything that he can't do: "I'm a confident player and I know I come from a small school. I played in the East versus West Shrine, Texas versus the nation and I feel like I was always better than the person lining up against me. So, I'm a confident player and looking forward to this next opportunity."
On the All-Star games he played in and the importance of proving himself to everyone: "I was definitely looking forward to that. I knew that once I got there I would show people what kind of player I was and what kind of athlete I was. I got there and started playing well, it was everything I expected. Some of the scouts were shocked at how good I played and how physical I was, but it was nothing unexpected to me at all."
On whether he plays any other positions: "They haven't talked to me about that yet. I'm sure this next week in the mini-camp I'll get everything that they want me to do."
On him getting downfield and average 13 yards per catch as a tight end: "I feel like I can get downfield as well as any tight end. I was an old receiver and I can run 4.50 seconds (forty yard dash). I'm very agile and I can see, I can make reads to get under a guy, get over a guy, whatever I need to do. So, that's definitely something that's one of my strengths is stretching the field."
