INDIANAPOLIS — Shemar Stewart didn't have to think when asked who he models his game after. The Texas A&M product answered without hesitating.

"Julius Peppers."

Stewart is a South Florida native who has readily admitted in recent interviews he didn't watch football until he was in middle school. Once the bug bit Stewart though, he dove in, studying any pass-rusher he could find to model in his own game. At 17-years old, his habitual YouTube studies of pass-rushers served him a Julius Peppers highlight reel.

"I was scrolling through YouTube one day watching some of the old NFL guys and I seen him, and I was like 'man, he kind of looks like me,'" laughed Stewart. "Same weight and everything.

"I feel like my body and our athletic ability are pretty similar. I'm not going to say I'm up there with him because he's definitely a Hall of Famer, but it's pretty similar in my mind."

Stewart clocks in at 6-6, 290 pounds, a big breakfast and a pair of shoes away from Peppers 6-7, 295 playing days weight. Seeing what Peppers was able to do in that frame—leading to, as Stewart said, a Hall of Fame career—has helped Stewart shape his own game.

One of the many eye-popping stats from Peppers storied career is the 160 sacks. And while Stewart knows his own sack numbers (4.5 through three years) will inevitably be picked apart during the draft process, he is also confident teams will watch his game tape and see the other ways he disrupted the game, opening up plays for teammates as well.

"I wasn't a sack-chasing warrior," Stewart said. "I just wanted to become the best player for my team. Sometimes the stats don't show that."

Maybe the sacks will come more at the next level, when employed in different ways or more advantageous schemes. For Shemar Stewart though, he will continue to follow Julius Peppers example and be a disrupter.

"He was explosive, strong and powerful," Stewart said. "He just made plays."

Mike Green answers all questions about character issues

Many times when a prospect has an incident in his past, he'll often avoid the topic by saying his focus is on the future. But Marshall pass-rusher Mike Green leaned into what he referred to as "accusations," which teams are asking him about this week.

Green acknowledged that he had been accused of sexual assault twice — once in high school and once at the University of Virginia, which led to a suspension and his decision to transfer. But he also pointed out that no charges were ever filed in either incident and maintained his innocence.

"Yeah, there's a lot of talk out there, and it's just a bunch of people that really don't know what actually happened," Green said early in his appearance. "I've never done anything wrong. I've never been charged with anything. My main focus right now is just telling these teams everything that they need and want to know.

"It's just a little frustrating just seeing online that everybody just has everything to say, and that's not the case, and so I'm just going to continue to stick to the process, and I'm confident in myself in the way I've been handling this process, so that's what we keep on doing. . . .

"I have no problem with talking to these teams about it because I know who I am, and I know the truth. Everybody else that thinks they know the truth, that's not my concern right now."

Green led the nation with 17.0 sacks last season, and even in a draft deep in edge-rushing talent, he's standing out.

"I'm not worried at all," he said of his status. "And as you can see throughout this process, I've been rising higher and higher and higher, and that should tell you everything that you need to know."

He's also confident in his football abilities, as when he was asked what helps him make a name for himself in this class, he just smiled and offered a one-word reply.

"Film."

Abdul Carter makes case for going first overall

Abdul Carter walked onto the podium bright and early Wednesday morning, the first prospect to step behind a mic at 8 a.m., and found a mass of reporters waiting for him. The Penn State defensive lineman leads a deep class of pass-rushers, and is arguably the top prospect in the position.

Carter wants to make sure he's the top prospect over all.

"I feel like I'm the best player in the country and the best player should be picked first," Carter confidently said. "It's the work I put in with my dad, who trained me, and all the sacrifices I made, I know I'm the best."

Some will see the statement as hyperbole, some as necessary confidence when going through a grueling evaluation process. Regardless, it's hard not to nod along when Carter states his case not only for himself but also taking a pass-rusher first overall.

"Defensive players impact the game just as much as the quarterback," Carter preached. "All the teams that have won Super Bowls, they have that one standout player. I feel like I'm that."

In his three years in Happy Valley, Carter accumulated 173 tackles (averaging 57.6 per season), 23 sacks, five forced fumbles, 13 passes defended, and an interception.

One way Carter is working towards making that happen is by training with Dallas Cowboys chess piece, Micah Parsons.

Carter followed Parsons at Penn State, following the blueprint the latter set for the Nittany Lions. Now they are working together to mold Carter into the No. 1 pick this April.

"Just before this season, I told (Micah) I want to be the No. 1 pick," Carter revealed. "Want to put some work in, he took me under his wing, we trained together, worked together, everything turned out (well) so far."

Mykel Williams describes playing through injuries at Georgia

Georgia has a load of talented defensive players — as seems to be the case every year — and Williams adds to the group. The 265-pound defensive end had just 5.0 sacks last year, but he said there was a reason for that.

He played through an ankle injury last season, estimating he was never more than 60 to 70 percent healthy. He's not working out here this week, electing to wait until Georgia's pro day later this spring.

"Yeah, it lingered the whole year; I never was healthy," he said. "I actually reinjured it most of the time throughout the year. I didn't practice until the Texas game (in December's playoff). Like, I was messed up pretty bad."

When asked how teams he talks to this week responded to that information, Williams grinned.

"They love it," he said. "They see I got that dog in me."

Jalon Walker won't work out at combine

Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker won't be working out in Indianapolis at the combine this week. There was a presumption that would be the case, as Walker nursed a few lingering injuries following the Bulldogs season. The pass-rusher confirmed the news on Wednesday while meeting with reporters at the annual event.

A projected first-round pick, and mocked to the Panthers at No. 8 overall in Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock draft, Walker is still meeting with teams in Indy this week. That includes his hometown team, the Panthers, which Walker admits is an exciting possibility. Walker was born in Salisbury, N.C.

"It is a great opportunity. Just to stay at home. My family is there. I don't have many family members that don't live in North Carolina or South Carolina, so it'd be a great opportunity for me to go to Carolina."

It would also be an opportunity to suit up for the same team that produced the linebackers that inspired Walker growing up.

"Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly, just hearing those names and being in North Carolina, those names speak wonders," Walker said. "And of course Thomas Davis being a former UGA Bulldog, we made that connection early in my recruitment and ever since then, we've been growing (together)."

Walker will work out at Georgia's Pro Day, for which a day has not yet been set.