Tned
04-27-2008, 09:08 PM
VIRGINIA TECH WR EDDIE ROYAL PRESS CONFERENCE (ENGLEWOOD, COLO.) (Rd. 2 - 42nd overall)
On his last 24 hours since being drafted by Denver
"The last day has been stressful. [Me] and my family, we were all in a hotel--family and friends just watching the draft. I felt like I lost about five pounds just sweating so much. I was sweating it out, and when I got the phone call it was a big relief."
On whether he thought he would be drafted on the first day
"I knew that I would go Saturday, I just didn't know where [and] at what point. I was really shocked that the Broncos selected me because they hadn't shown much interest. I didn't think they were one of the teams on my radar, but it worked out."
On whether he will be compared with WR DeSean Jackson, who was drafted by the Eagles
"It doesn't matter to me. It's not going to affect me and how I play football and how I go about my business. I'm not worried about anybody else. They can compare us all they want. I'm just going to go out and do my job every day.
"We are similar in our build and we are both return men, so I guess there are some similarities."
On his character
"I'm a family guy. I have six brothers and sisters [and] it's just my mom, so I'm real close to my family. I feel like I've had to grow up a lot faster. Just having older siblings in the house, I learned to mature a lot quicker and I feel I act older than my age. Hopefully that will help me a professional, coming in and learning the playbook and doing all the right things on and off the field."
[B]On whom he models his return game after
"Devin Hester. You strive to be the best and he's one of the best right now--probably one of the best all-time. I've been studying film from him ever since he was at [the University of] Miami because you recognize a player and you try to learn something from him.
On dealing with the Virginia Tech massacre
"It was tough. But it was good for us to be around each other, to go out and play football and take your mind away from what happened. We were strong for the university. Going out and playing that first game [vs. East Carolina, Sept. 1, 2007] was big for us. You [saw] a lot of tears in the stadium, but it was good to get people's minds off of everything.
"I was in my apartment luckily [when the shootings happened], and I was just about to head to campus when I flipped on my TV and found out what had happened.
"It felt like a movie; you didn't really want to believe that it was happening, especially 100 yards away from you, 200 yards away from you. It was a crazy feeling and it's something you don't want to ever relive."
On what he took away from the tragedy
"Just being mentally tough and knowing that it could always be worse. Appreciate everything and appreciate that I get the opportunity to go out and play football every Saturday or Sunday."
On playing against Broncos CBs Champ Bailey and Dré Bly in practice
"That was one of the big things for me, just getting it done in practice. So I'm going up against two of the best in practice--Sunday shouldn't be so bad."
On whether he plans to contribute a lot as a wide receiver
"I definitely do. That's my goal. I don't want people to look at me just as a return man because I'm a lot more than that and I plan to show that to people."
On learning the ropes of the slot receiver position from Broncos WR Brandon Stokley
"It's a perfect situation for me. Just to come in and learn from a guy like that, it's amazing. He's a professional, he goes about his business [and] he's a great guy to learn from."
http://den.scout.com/2/750570.html
On his last 24 hours since being drafted by Denver
"The last day has been stressful. [Me] and my family, we were all in a hotel--family and friends just watching the draft. I felt like I lost about five pounds just sweating so much. I was sweating it out, and when I got the phone call it was a big relief."
On whether he thought he would be drafted on the first day
"I knew that I would go Saturday, I just didn't know where [and] at what point. I was really shocked that the Broncos selected me because they hadn't shown much interest. I didn't think they were one of the teams on my radar, but it worked out."
On whether he will be compared with WR DeSean Jackson, who was drafted by the Eagles
"It doesn't matter to me. It's not going to affect me and how I play football and how I go about my business. I'm not worried about anybody else. They can compare us all they want. I'm just going to go out and do my job every day.
"We are similar in our build and we are both return men, so I guess there are some similarities."
On his character
"I'm a family guy. I have six brothers and sisters [and] it's just my mom, so I'm real close to my family. I feel like I've had to grow up a lot faster. Just having older siblings in the house, I learned to mature a lot quicker and I feel I act older than my age. Hopefully that will help me a professional, coming in and learning the playbook and doing all the right things on and off the field."
[B]On whom he models his return game after
"Devin Hester. You strive to be the best and he's one of the best right now--probably one of the best all-time. I've been studying film from him ever since he was at [the University of] Miami because you recognize a player and you try to learn something from him.
On dealing with the Virginia Tech massacre
"It was tough. But it was good for us to be around each other, to go out and play football and take your mind away from what happened. We were strong for the university. Going out and playing that first game [vs. East Carolina, Sept. 1, 2007] was big for us. You [saw] a lot of tears in the stadium, but it was good to get people's minds off of everything.
"I was in my apartment luckily [when the shootings happened], and I was just about to head to campus when I flipped on my TV and found out what had happened.
"It felt like a movie; you didn't really want to believe that it was happening, especially 100 yards away from you, 200 yards away from you. It was a crazy feeling and it's something you don't want to ever relive."
On what he took away from the tragedy
"Just being mentally tough and knowing that it could always be worse. Appreciate everything and appreciate that I get the opportunity to go out and play football every Saturday or Sunday."
On playing against Broncos CBs Champ Bailey and Dré Bly in practice
"That was one of the big things for me, just getting it done in practice. So I'm going up against two of the best in practice--Sunday shouldn't be so bad."
On whether he plans to contribute a lot as a wide receiver
"I definitely do. That's my goal. I don't want people to look at me just as a return man because I'm a lot more than that and I plan to show that to people."
On learning the ropes of the slot receiver position from Broncos WR Brandon Stokley
"It's a perfect situation for me. Just to come in and learn from a guy like that, it's amazing. He's a professional, he goes about his business [and] he's a great guy to learn from."
http://den.scout.com/2/750570.html