Take me through the emotions. Did you feel like this was a spot you could land, and how did you react to the news? _(Garrett Downing) _"When I got the call and I saw it was Baltimore, I was excited right away to be a part of such a great program. I'm excited to get there, and to start working and do everything I can to help win Super Bowls in Baltimore. It was a great, great moment. I'm excited that I'm going to such a great program, for sure."
Can you walk me through your background a little bit? Coming from Canada, I read that you aspired to enter the CFL, and then the pandemic kind of changed your mind. Can you walk me through the story of how you ended up landing at Ole Miss and now pursuing an NFL career? _(Ryan Mink) _"I played two years of university football up here in Canada, and then when Covid happened, everything got shut down here. Football got canceled. At that point, I was sending out my tape everywhere, trying to get a school in the States. Then, Ole Miss was one of my first SEC offers, so that's how I ended up at Ole Miss. Then, I had three years there, and now I'm here."
Who are some players that you've tried to model your game after as you've prepared for the NFL? _(Luke Jones) _"Maxx Crosby is someone who I've watched a ton because he has a relentless motor. So, that's one thing. I watched him throughout the season; that's kind of what I try to model my game off of, is never giving up on plays, playing with a relentless motor. On top of that, he has great pass rush moves, is a great run defender, but the motor part is one thing that I try to take from his game, 100%."
We hear from everybody that you were really coming on at the end of your college career. In your mind, where did you improve the most, and where do you still think you have the most room to grow? _(Childs Walker) _"I think the most, I just improved at the … The game started to slow down for me. The more I learned from my coaches, the better I got, and the more confident I felt out there. I became a better power rusher this year, better at stopping the run. I just feel like I still have so much more room to grow, and I'm a sponge; I like to be coached, and I'd like to become as best as I can at this game. So, I think there's a lot of room to grow, for sure."
You had a lot of forced fumbles in college. When did it become an emphasis for you to start really going after the football? _(Cordell Woodland) _"Really from the start of the season; that's something that our DC [and] D-line coach preaches because turnovers can win games. The turnover margin, you have to take away … The ball wins games, so whenever you get a shot to take that ball out, it's what you have to do. A sack isn't enough; you have to get the strip sack. That's kind of my mentality with it."
How much interaction did you have with the Ravens in the Pre-Draft process, and what was the extent of that? _(Jeff Zrebiec) _"We had talked a little bit at the Combine and the Senior Bowl; I remember that. So, I knew that they were on my radar. I didn't know 100% if it was going to end up, but when I got that call from Baltimore, again, I was ecstatic and just excited to come into such a great program."
Just from looking at your bio, I saw you used to work at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? before you got the college offer. What was that experience like for you, and have you thought at all about just how far you've come since you made your break into college football? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, so with that story, right before … When football had got cancelled here in Canada … Because here in Canada, we don't get full scholarships; you've got to work to pay for your school for the upcoming year. So, before I had gotten any offers, I had applied for that job, got that job and was just getting ready to start working to make enough money to go to university the upcoming year, but at the same time, I was sending out my [football] tape. I didn't know if anything was going to come from it, but then I got the Ole Miss offer, and then, yes, I didn't even … I think I was scheduled to go in for work, and then I got the Ole Miss offer like two days before, and then I quit and then was on a plane to Ole Miss like the next day. So, yes."
Have you talked that much with the Ravens about what kind of role on the defense you might have? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, we're going to get into that pretty soon here. But yes, I'm just excited to be a part of Baltimore, for sure."
You are the fourth Canadian to go in the NFL Draft this year, and you and I both know that ties the record for the most. What are your thoughts about the number of Canadians that we're seeing going into the NFL Draft in the last four or five years? And what's the significance of that for you? (Dan Ralph) "It's so significant to me, because, at the end of the day, there are so many great players up here who, in my mind, if they were in D1 schools, they would be in the same position, but it's hard to get that opportunity from Canada. So, it's great to see, and I think it will continue to open up more opportunities for Canadians kids, which they deserve, because there is so much talent up here. Once that talent really gets tapped into, I think the number is just going to rise and rise every year, so it's great."
Your uncle has a pro pedigree, but you're the first University of Guelph player ever to be drafted into the National Football League. Is there any significance to that in your mind? (Dan Ralph) "Definitely. Again, it's to show all the kids back home, all the kids up here, around, in Canada, that it's possible with hard work and dedication. It's important – it's important that the kids know that. So, I'm definitely grateful for the opportunity and happy that the kids can look up to me, for sure."
How much did you play as a defensive end and as a hand-in-the-dirt guy at Ole Miss, and how comfortable do you feel on your feet on the edge? (Ryan Mink) "My first year at Ole Miss … Well, my two years at Canada and my first year at Ole Miss, I was a standup [defensive] end, and then the past two years, I've been [with my] hand in the dirt, so I'm very comfortable with both. So, it's good with both, for sure."
You seem like you're on every academic honor roll in college. Where does that drive come from, and how does that help you as an athlete? (Kevin Richardson) "It's just kind of a pro mindset; everything you do, you've got to do it at the highest level. So, to play football, you have to have good enough grades to be on the team, so that's just something that I do. I've always been good at school, so it's just something that I do to make sure that I'm good to play football. I take everything at the highest level, basically."
