On what he's learned from Julius Peppers so far:"Basically showing me how to be a pro, critiquing my technique and how to be a better rusher. I'm learning a lot from Charles Johnson, Mario Addison and everybody, it helps me out a lot."
On the fun the defensive group has:"Yeah it's a pretty fun group."
On Mario Addison:"Very energetic. Most of the guys on the D-Line joke around, it's a fun environment to be around. I'm just being me and doing my roll as a rookie, doing the little things and having fun."
On what his rookie duties consist of for the defensive linemen:"That might be top secret. Just rookie stuff like buying some meals every now and then, getting candy, having the snack room always full, having water and Gatorade in the refrigerators and stuff like that. It's fun. I'm embracing it."
On how he'll be able to contribute to the Panthers:"I'm just going to try to do whatever Coach Washington wants me to do. I feel like I can contribute but it's a process. I have great coaches, I have great teammates and they're helping me out and making the process a little easier."
On if he has ever thought about how old you were when Peppers was drafted:"Wasn't he born in 2002?"
On when he was born:"1995."
On if he remembers the early part of Peppers' career:"Yeah I remember the early part of his career. He's always been baller and I've always looked up to him."
On being in the room with Julius Peppers:"He's the type of guy you grew up watching on TV, and now I have the opportunity to play with him and it's a blessing. I've got a lot of veterans on the D-Line, and everybody gives me advice and helps me out, even the defensive tackles like KK and Short, Star, and Vernon. Everybody helps me out. It's a good environment to learn in."
On the amount of veterans the D-Line has:"This group that I'm with, I'm very fortunate because everybody helps each other out. We're basically like a family. Everybody helps everybody out and critiques everybody's game and that goes far for me."
On the biggest adjustment he's had to make transitioning from college to the pros: "Speeding my hands up. Coach Washington has been working with me on my rush angles and speeding my hands up. Just learning a lot of things, countering at the point and all that stuff. It's been fun."
On speaking to his mom on draft night:"She's loud."
On the last time he spoke with his mom:"I talk to her when I get a break every now and then, but in camp you're pretty busy with meetings and all that stuff. I talked to her and she's doing good. I signed with Adidas so she got some Adidas stuff and she's happy about that."
On any weight gain:"No, I'm around the same weight, 265. I've been able to hold it throughout camp."
On if that is where he wants to stay:"My report weight is 265, so I'm going to stay with that."
On what the guys have told him to expect from fan fest:"They said it's really really nice and a lot of people out to watch us. *It's at night time so they just told me to stay focused and treat it like a practice." *On playing in Bank of America for the first time: **"It's going to be exciting, being able to run out of that tunnel and being able to see what it's like in the stadium for the first time. I'm excited and I'm looking forward to it."
