Interview with Niko Koutouvides

[Drill-N-Fill]

Im really starting to like this guy. Sounds like a hard worker and knows what it takes to succeed. This is a nice long interview. Enjoy.

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=7895

[Den21vsBal19]

Im really starting to like this guy. Sounds like a hard worker and knows what it takes to succeed. This is a nice long interview. Enjoy.

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=7895

Comes across pretty well, thanks for the link

[shank]

that's a good interview. i like the guy and feel pretty comfortable with him as our prospective starter. i can still see us bringing in an ILB to compete, but he's not the no-name loser i thought he would be the first time i read about our interest in him.

i like that he described his style to be almost exactly what al was for us, only to be asked about al right after. if he can be the hard-nosed, vocal, smart linebacker that he describes himself to be, we could potentially be set at MLB for a while.

plus we now have 2 starters from last year (kinda, webster and winborn) as depth, which is a nice luxory to have, and webster was always at his best playing in the middle. (meaning i won't cry if we avoid linebacker in the draft and focus on other areas (OT, DT, WR, RB, FB, K, P)

[Hobe]

Happy for the chance to step up and prove himself. Sounds pretty good to me.

[Drill-N-Fill]

My fav part was when he said he was a hard hitting LB especially in the running game. He sounds like a smart guy. I'm confident he would pick up the scheme in time.

[Fan in Exile]

I really loved his attitude. I wish we had a couple more guys like that. I'm really going to be pulling for him.

[BOSSHOGG30]

The former Boilermaker's last name is pronounced "Koo-tuh-vee-dees." A two-time winner of Purdue's Hammer Award for outstanding tackler, Koutouvides might be remembered by football fans in the Northwest for his efforts in bowl games against Washington and Washington State.

Against the Huskies in the 2002 Sun Bowl, Koutouvides had four tackles and an interception. When Purdue played the Cougars in the 2001 Sun Bowl, Koutouvides brought down Jason Gesser for a 2-yard loss on a draw play and had 11 tackles.

The 23-year-old Connecticut resident attended a post high-school preparatory academy in 1999 before attending Purdue. Twice a first-team all-Big Ten Conference selection, he confessed that one of his nicknames is "Niko Suave," derived from the 1991 hit song "Rico Suave."

Koutouvides majored in organizational leadership and supervision and hopes to bring some of what he learned to pro football.

[BOSSHOGG30]

Another interesting read I found:

As loud as he is, Koutouvides has convinced his parents that he's a quiet guy off the field. A first generation American child with Greek parents, Koutouvides was raised with a strong Greek influence. His parents, Niki and Stelios, own and operate two restaurants in his hometown of Plainville, Connecticut. The Maxita and Stonewall restaurants have been run by the Koutouvides' for 27 and 15 years respectively, with both Niki and Stelios working 80 hour weeks. Niko's two older brothers also played college football; Daki recently graduated from Merrimack College.

"Niko's always wanted to be the leader and take control of what's going on," Stelios said. "(His three sons') success is mostly on their character; we mostly worked at the restaurants."

Because of Niko's outgoing personality and heritage, he is always around family and friends. When he was younger, Niki said she used to have to feed 20 to 30 of Niko's neighborhood friends either at home or at her restaurant on a regular basis. The Koutouvides' also host family gatherings in typical Greek fashion bringing 30 to 40 relatives to their house.

"(My childhood) was just like My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Niko said. "I had to do six years of Greek school and seven years of Sunday School. I know how to speak Greek, and I'm the only one in the family who hasn’t been to Greece."

[SR]

He came across well and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him starting for us this year. The one thing that really irritated me a lot in this interview was that he ended a lot of sentences with "of this/that nature"

[shank]

He came across well and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him starting for us this year. The one thing that really irritated me a lot in this interview was that he ended a lot of sentences with "of this/that nature"

he said, "you know" a lot too, but what pro athlete doesn't?

was working on a degree in organizational leadership and supervision... sounds like our lack of leadership may have been another factor in his signing.

i like what i'm hearing. i too will be rooting for this guy to (deservedly) win the starting mike spot, and be a beast mlb for years.

[broncosfanscott]

I liked the interview and he seems a very smart guy who is aggresive and good in the run game, something we need to improve on.

I will be very satisfied with this guy at MLB.

[Lonestar]

I thought he was well spoken.

My only concern and it is minor, he rarely looked the interviewers in the eye was always looking down from side to side..

Perhaps his lack of face time on TV or in front of cameras..

Certainly does not lack confidence IMO.

[honz]

Was this an interview or an interrogation? You guys are looking into the words he used and his body language...it was a preseason interview and the guy probably didn't really want to be there.

[shank]

it was an off-season interview, thank you very much.

i don't know why you're on a broncos message board if you're not interested enough to try and figure out for yourself what this guy brings to the table :coffee:

[Lonestar]

Was this an interview or an interrogation? You guys are looking into the words he used and his body language...it was a preseason interview and the guy probably didn't really want to be there.


Why would he not want to be there? He has a chance to be the MAN in DEN defense..

If he did not want the spotlight why did he sign here instead of being a backup in SEA?

[honz]

Why would he not want to be there? He has a chance to be the MAN in DEN defense..

If he did not want the spotlight why did he sign here instead of being a backup in SEA?
I'm just saying that he was just trying to say all of the right things and you have to realize that he has been interviewed countless times during his football career and hasn't heard an original/new question since he was in high school.

I thought it was a very good interview and he seems like a smart and hard working guy...I just found it funny that you guys were analyzing his body language and choice of words.

[shank]

I thought it was a very good interview and he seems like a smart and hard working guy...I just found it funny that you guys were analyzing his body language and choice of words.

it's the only thing we can do at this time of year. in between analyzing body language of our players, i enjoy having big arguments about why we shouldn't take players that we don't even have a shot at and proposing theoretical trades. it's a boring time of year.

[honz]

it's the only thing we can do at this time of year. in between analyzing body language of our players, i enjoy having big arguments about why we shouldn't take players that we don't even have a shot at and proposing theoretical trades. it's a boring time of year.
I hear ya. My comments were meant to be made in a light hearted manner. I was merely amused.:salute:

[shank]

I hear ya. My comments were meant to be made in a light hearted manner. I was merely amused.:salute:

yeah, sorry. i had a lame day and now am involved in a useless, but somewhat heated discussion in another thread and my roommate is not here or i'd blow off steam by throwing things at his face while he plays call of duty 4... :lol:

[BigSarge87]

I'm not used to NFL players being so humble yet confident, it is very refreshing. I will definately be pulling for this guy. He didn't seem real intelligent, though. I bet he would have completely forgot where he was and what he was doing if he saw something shiny on the wall.

[fcspikeit]

I like this guy, he plays angry and he is a good tackler. If he is smart enough to play Mike he will be an upgrade even over DJ. Our LB core will be a lot better IMO because DJ is leaps and bounds better then Gold or Webster.


I really like his attitude but I wish he would have been a little more confident. He could have said, "Sure people have a reason to doubt me, But I will go out there and show everyone why I was brought here"

[Scarface]

I like this guy, he plays angry and he is a good tackler. If he is smart enough to play Mike he will be an upgrade even over DJ. Our LB core will be a lot better IMO because DJ is leaps and bounds better then Gold or Webster.


I really like his attitude but I wish he would have been a little more confident. He could have said, "Sure people have a reason to doubt me, But I will go out there and show everyone why I was brought here"

He could have said something like that but what would it really matter?

Talk is cheap.