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New Orleans Saints T Marcel Jones
Conference Call
Saturday, April 28, 2012

Where are you right now?

"I'm at my apartment in Lincoln, Nebraska right now."

And you are originally from Arizona?

"Yes, born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona."

What brought you to Nebraska?

"They had a good program for football; they came out and recruited me. It was between Nebraska and Arizona State, and I just though that Nebraska was a better fit for me, so I came out here and had had a pretty good career. I'm looking forward to a new career in New Orleans."

Carl Nicks, who has recently moved on from the Saints, was our most recent guy from Nebraska and had a lot of success. Are you guys familiar with one another and if so, what did you learn from him?

"Carl was at Nebraska during my redshirt freshman year. I remember watching Carl play the game and seeing just how physical he was, how big he was, he was just a monster on the field. Ever since I saw Carl and I came to Nebraska, I knew I wanted to be like that- I want to be a big dominant offensive lineman. It's pretty ironic that Carl got drafted there in the fifth round and ended up earning a spot and some playing time. He's off to a great career because he's a great offensive lineman, and now I have the same opportunity and now it's time to take advantage of it."

Do you feel like the pedigree with Nebraska, known for their offensive lineman, had a lot to do with the Saints selecting you?

"I don't know. I hope they selected me on the basis of how I play the game. I hope they selected me because I'm a great player. Being from Nebraska, they are known for their great offensive lineman and their great coaches here with Coach Cotton and Coach Garrison. They taught me great technique and they taught me how to play the game well so, I guess that might've helped. But I hope New Orleans picked me because I'm a great player and I will fit their system well."

Are you excited to come to New Orleans and play with players like Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, etc.?

"Yes! I am extremely excited. Oh man, this is every kid's dream to make it to the NFL, let alone make it to a Super Bowl contending team. I'm just so blessed to be in this opportunity right now and hopefully I can go out there and make a good impression on the coaches and make the team."

Can you tell us a little bit about your injury history? It looked like you were banged up a little bit as a junior, and how did you come back as a senior?

"Well in my junior year I had a little back injury that held me out for some time. This past year I just wanted to come back and show everybody that I was healthy. Yes I had an injury last year, but that was last year and it's in the past. This year I've been healthy throughout the whole season and going into the season. Hopefully I will try to dispel some of those things about being injury prone and all of that stuff. I tried to silence some of those critics with how I played my senior year."

What did you graduate with your degree in?

"I graduated in construction management. I majored in construction management and minored in general business. I've always been a guy that wanted to work with my hands and I've never been a suit and tie kind of guy so I figured it's somewhere where I can use my hands. It's a lot of math. I like math. I like to think a little bit so I figured something like that would work well for me. I'm happy with that major."

What do you like to do in your free time?

"I like to hang out with my teammates. I like to just hang out with the guys, be a normal guy pretty much. I've never been hunting before but I've always wanted to. Being in Nebraska, I have a lot of teammates that go out and do it, and I always talk to them about going but I could never make it out there, so maybe I'll get the chance to do that."

Do you like to fish?

"I've been fishing once, and it was pretty fun I guess. I think it's something that you like it or you don't. I haven't gone fishing a lot of times so I can't tell you if I like it or I hate it yet, so hopefully I get some more opportunities to go out there and do that. But I hear it's really relaxing, and that's right up my alley."

Arizona is known to be a very dry heat. We don't have that down here; it is a very wet heat.

"That's fine. Coming from Nebraska, it's really humid summers out here. I figured if I could play in Nebraska, I could play anywhere. It's the coldest of cold and the hottest of hot with the 90-degree heat and the 90% humidity out here. Then you flip the script and you go below freezing. So I figured if I could play here I could play anywhere. "

What would you say your strengths are as a lineman? Are you looking forward to blocking for Drew Brees?

"For a guy my size, I think I move my feet pretty well. I have a pretty good kick-slide so that will come in handy when Drew drops back to pass. I'm a young guy; I've still got a lot to learn. I'd love to go in there and learn from all the veterans, ask them what I can bring. I think I can bring a little youth, I can move my feet pretty well, I've got pretty good hands and pretty long arms as well. I can use my length to my advantage when I need it. Those are some things I can bring to the team and am looking forward to bringing. "