New Orleans Saints Conference Call
3rd-Round Draft Pick TE Jimmy Graham
Friday, April 23, 2010
What are your thoughts on being drafted by the Super Bowl champion Saints?
"It's an honor to be drafted by the New Orleans Saints. It's a team that I've watched for the last 10 years. They're my favorite team and I see that as the best situation possible."
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How much contact did you have with the Saints throughout this process or was this pick a surprise?
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"I came on a visit, which was incredible. I got the opportunity to meet all the coaches and sit in the locker room and see the facilities. It definitely wasn't a surprise for me and I'm very excited."
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How did you become a Saints fan?
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"I actually know a lot of people from New Orleans and a Saints game was the first pro football game that I ever watched."
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Where do you feel like you fit in with this offense and the tight ends like Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas?
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"I definitely think that I can help immediately. Of course learning from those two guys is a great opportunity for me, but I definitely think that I have the ability to stretch the field with my speed and size and have the opportunity to get past the safeties. I'm very good in one-on-one coverage and I think that's where I'll be able to help early and also on special teams."
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Do you think only having one year of college football experience will inhibit you at all?
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"I don't think so. This is something that I've been working on every day tremendously and it's something that I've been focused on and that I want. I started playing football last year and was able to do a lot in the little bit of time that I had and now going to the next level, I'm just excited to take on the opportunities. I don't think it's going to take that long."
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There are some players on the Saints team, such as Drew Brees and Robert Meachem, who fancy themselves as good basketball players. Do you have any messages for them?
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"I'd love to have the opportunity to meet Drew Brees on the court and show him a little bit."
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Why do you think there is a correlation to basketball and tight end? Do they have a skill set that translates pretty well?
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"I'm not really sure about that. For me, I think my skill set was something that translated very well. I was an explosive basketball player; a shot-blocker, an aggressive rebounder. The ability to go up and get rebounds and timing block shots and to move my feet and have touch around the basket while working on my hands; the ability to go get the ball and my footwork is something that translates to football."
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How did you come to have friends from New Orleans?
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"My college roommate's girlfriend is from New Orleans and we used to go up there a lot and now he lives there so I get up there every couple of months. I'm real excited. I was at this year's Super Bowl cheering for the Saints and wearing a Saints hat. For me, this is a dream come true and I'm excited for this opportunity. I'm hungry to get started."
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What were Jeremy Shockey's words of encouragement to you when you talked to him after one of the Saints' Super Bowl practices in Miami?
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"I saw him after the practice and he was in the cold tub and I walked up to him and introduced myself. He knew who I was and he told me that he had been watching me all year and that he was very proud of me and what I had done. He just told me that if I keep working hard and I stick with it that the sky is the ceiling. For me, that was incredible. He's a guy that I look up to in football and he has done a lot. For him to say that about me meant everything."
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What will it mean to you to be in his position group every day in practice?
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"I can't tell you how excited I am. Obviously he's a Miami guy and when I came in to play for the University of Miami, it was his film that I was watching, it was his Pro Day that I watched to prepare for my Pro Day. So I know his game and I have kind of tried to pattern myself after him. But to watch him and learn from him what he knows about the game and to have him teach me every day, I can't express in words how excited I am."
