Q)Do teams view you more as a 3-4 outside linebacker or 4-3 defensive end?
DE/OLB Randy Gregory – Nebraska: I’ve had a mixture of both. But with the weight right now, I am sure a lot of 3-4 teams will look at me more instead of the 4-3.
Q)How has your work with (pass rushing guru) Chuck Smith helped you?
Gregory: Every day I am learning something new. Some of the stuff he taught me, if I would have known that in college, my game would have been that much better. So I am happy I am working with him. He is worth the money, and worth the time and effort.
Q)There seems to be real premium on edge pass rushers in this draft . . .
Gregory: I think some people think it starts with the quarterback, and I am not going to sit here and disagree with it. But I understand where the game is headed, I understand there’s a lot of passing going on and you need somebody who can throw the ball and somebody who can block for them. But you also need somebody who can go after them, so you need a defensive end who can rush the passer. I understand that aspect of the game and I am glad I am in a position where I possibly could get taken early due to the fact I am pretty decent at pass rushing.
Q)What have you been working on?
Gregory: It starts with technique, leverage, hand placement, eye placement, just reading your tackle. A lot of that I learned at Nebraska and I’ll carry that to the next level. One of the things I’ve been telling teams is I really want to get better at my technique. I think I have decent technique, but as far as setting the edge, I want to get better with my hand placement, my foot placement and my leverage.
Q)How much better can you get?
Gregory: My best years are ahead of me. I think I have done a lot with the time I have had, and I played two years of JUCO, my second year I got hurt. But really I played one year of junior college and three years of college in general. For me, I am still new to the position, so I am still learning things and I am real coachable. I am real smart so I pick up things real quickly. The sky is the limit for me.
Q)How excited are you about the chance to play in the NFL?
Gregory: It would be special, this is something I have been planning for since I was 8 years old. I knew I would be in this situation, going to the NFL. But I also understand this is the beginning. It is a blank slate, a new team, new teammates. And I am ready to embrace that.”
Q)How did you know at 8 you’d be good?
Gregory: I just really saw the game differently. I enjoyed the physical-ness of it, hitting kids at that age. A lot of kids were bobble-heads, scared of contact. My dad called it when I was 9 years old, he said I was going to make it here.
