Q:  What did Coach Carroll tell you?
A:  No too much.  He was told me that he was proud of me; all of the things that I have been doing at USC and how hard I worked.  He was proud of all of the seniors that got drafted the first day.

Q:  What is today like for you?
A:  It is a learning experience; different technique, different plays; communicating with Kenny.  It is fun.  It is playing football again.

Q:  How exciting is it for you to come to this Super Bowl Championship team?
A:  It is a great organization.  I’m coming from one winning organization to another.  It is a perfect opportunity for me – the same defensive scheme – very similar and great players.  I have Steve Smith here to welcome me in.

Q:  Previous injuries
A:  Right, without a doubt.  But I got drafted.  That doesn’t matter. They were all freak accidents – my knees.  It just happened.  They were minor.  My two shoulders – I obviously had both shoulder problems.  I had it fixed.  I haven’t had any problem since.  I’m healthy now.

Q:  What did you learn when you were coming back from those injuries?
A:  Just to never give up.  It taught me a lot.  It taught me to be humble.  It gave me a lot --- pretty much turned me into a man.  ……going through college, starting and then to get injured and having to come back over and over again.

Q:  I don’t know if you have looked at this defense at all, but ………  , is that something that you have noticed?
A:  Oh yeah, without a doubt.  And that’s why I say I fit the mode of their defense.  …..Long, cover two, cover four cornerback, ……come up with …… running back.

Q:  So you and Aaron Ross could be on the corners some day together?
A:  Oh yeah, without a doubt.  He is a great player and I would love to fit the mode that he played last year – starting at nickel, starting a couple of games, being a great contributor to their team.

Q:  What was it like for you before the draft?  Did you have any sense that the Giants were going to select you?
A:  I talked to Marc Ross actually I think that Thursday.  He told me if I was there they were going to take me.  He called with two minutes left on the clock.  He said, “This is Marc Ross.”  I said, “You promised me.”  He said, “Yes.”  So it was a great feeling.

Q:  About learning – how overwhelming is that playbook?
A:  It is not overwhelming, it is just new terminology.  Kenny Phillips and I were in the hotel room going back and forth, “What’s this, what’s that.”  So it is just all new terminology – things they do compared to what we did at USC or Miami.  We tried to compare contrasts and come up with the best solution to learn the playbook.

Q:  Confidence that you bring.  Do you have to have it at our position?
A:  Without a doubt. You are going to get beat, obviously there is going to be one play you might give up for a touchdown.  You have to come back that next series and shut down that same guy.  So you just have to have that short memory.  I learned that at USC.

Q:  With rookie mini camp – there are only a couple of days where you can show the Coach what you can do. 
A:  I honestly learned as much as I can in the playbook.  They know what I can do.  What matters more is learning the playbooks so when the veterans come in ………

Q: One of the biggest adjustments guys like yourself coming in is not so much the physical play on the field but the mental aspect because they throw so much at you.
A:  Yeah, without a doubt because you are thinking.  When you are thinking too much you play slower.  So you want to try to play as fast as you can.  So you want to get what you can.  So that is what they told us.  “If you don’t know the defense, just go out there and play.”  And that is what I struggled with earlier in practice.  Toward the end of the practice I started getting it.  I was able to play a lot faster. 

Q:  New York, doesn’t get any better than this?
A:  No, it doesn’t.  I’m going from one coast to another.  I have never been here so it is a great experience.  This is my new home and I am really excited about it. 

Q:  Biggest adjustment coming from West Coast?
A:  Probably the weather.  But I am ready for it.  I was excited going from one coast to another.  I could in Missouri or something.  But I’m going to New York so I’m excited.

Q:  Your first impressions of Coach Tom Coughlin.  He is a nice guy, right?
A:  Oh yeah, without a doubt.  He is strict but he commands respect.  If you give him respect he is going to do the same to you.

Q:  The NFL can be intimidating for any rookie coming in but for any guy coming in. But is it harder for you guys coming to the defending Super Bowl champs?
A:  I come from a great program.  Coach Carroll, he has pretty much coached us into the NFL program.  So anything we did was top-notch.  So I don’t think it will be hard adjustment for me at all.

Q:  So who did win those battles (with Steve Smith)?
A:  It went back and forth, obviously.  He is a great receiver and he is probably one of the best receivers that I regard in my career.  And we went back and forth every day.  I really like going up against him because we test each other. 

Q:  Did you go up against Manningham?
A:  Yes, I think I went up against him twice. 

Q:  What did you think of him?
A:  He is a great receiver.  I played him in the Rose Bowl about two years back.  He made a lot of plays for Michigan.  He is going to be a great player for the Giants. 

Q:  Trash talking back then?
A:  Not at all.  We were just talking back and forth.  We don’t do too much trash talking. 

Q:  It seem like he is a little bit of an undersized player for an NFL wide receiver – not like 6-3, more like 5-11.   What do you see in him as far as his strengths go?
A:  He made plays.  Whenever you turned on the game on Saturday you would see him scoring a touchdown or burning up a defense.  So that is all that matters.  Whether you are 5-8 or 6-5, if you are making plays like that, that is all that matters.

Q:  When you were drafted did you expect to go in the second round?
A:  I started off early before the Combine and all of that.  I kind of fell because of my injuries.  I kind of fell early to late second round.  I thought I would go a little bit earlier but you know, honestly I could have gone to a different team, but I fell into a great situation -- a winning tradition, defense that is very similar to the one at USC.  So I’m just excited to be here.