A week after being drafted, Kamalei Correa was still shocked he's a Raven.
"I only met with the Ravens at the Combine for like 10 minutes," he said Friday. "I was like, 'These guys aren't interested in me.' But I got picked and I'm blessed."
Correa joined the rest of the Ravens rookie class for the start of a two-day rookie minicamp. The rookies all enter the gorgeous Under Armour Performance Center a little wide-eyed, but Correa may be more smitten than most.
"I'm just so happy to be a part of the Baltimore Ravens," Correa said. "It's just so surreal. I still can't believe that I'm here. I'm just trying to soak in every moment, because I could be gone tomorrow."
Correa should be around for a long, long time.
The high-motor pass rusher and violent edge player is just what the Ravens need to add for the immediate and future with Terrell Suggs (33) and Elvis Dumervil (32) getting long in the tooth.
Correa notched 20 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss over his three-year college career at Boise State. He's got game-changing burst off the edge.
The Ravens selected Correa for more reasons than an impressive college tape. He was also given a "red star," signifying that he's everything they want a Raven to be.
The night the Ravens drafted Correa in the second round, after trading back twice and still getting the player they coveted, Head Coach John Harbaugh told the media that it would quickly find out why Baltimore didn't need much time to fall in love with Correa.
"We had 15 minutes; that was all we needed to know," Harbaugh said. "He was on the edge of his seat, looking you right in the eye and answering every question directly."
Correa indeed showed that in his first press conference Friday. He began with a joke about how the taxes taken from his first contract hurt, then kept delivering punch lines.
"I love to hit. I love to get the ball," he said. "If I'm lined up on the ball or off the ball, I'm just going to come down and hit somebody."
Sounds like he'll fit right in with Baltimore's black and blue defense.
"To play where guys like Ray Lewis, Elvis Dumervil, Terrell Suggs and all of these guys play is just so surreal," Correa said. "I'm going to soak up everything I can from those guys, because they've been playing for a while, and I'm just excited to learn from them."
Correa will likely be on the field a lot as a rookie. With the departure of outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw in free agency, the Ravens need another edge defender to work in rotation with Dumervil and Suggs, who is coming off an Achilles injury.
Correa was asked if he feels pressure to contribute right away given that he's a second-round pick.
"They're paying me," Correa said. "So on Sundays I better show up and play."
