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28
Apr

Detroit Lions introduce their 2017 first-round pick LB Jarrad Davis

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL

Opening statement: “Good afternoon. I get the great pleasure to introduce to you Jarrad Davis. Unique thing about him, a couple things are unique. Number one, I think most of you realize that he chose not to go to the ceremony in Philadelphia, the draft. He wanted to spend time at home with his folks and where he felt it obviously allowed the people that have supported him along the way would have an opportunity to kind of rejoice and celebrate in that moment. His father, John, and mother, Amy, are here with him today as well. For us it was obviously a selection process. I know Bob (Quinn) talked to you guys about it extensively last night. It was a long process and a thorough process, but one of the things I can make it real short for you, we try and look for people that are certainly going to be smart, fast and physical. It’s a little acronym that we use, the three short words we use I should say, to describe the players and what you should see on the field from them when they’re playing for us. And it’s pretty easy when you look at what Jarrad was able to do. In terms of the smart part portion of it, he’s been a guy that’s been a communicator, a great leader of his team, work extremely hard. His work ethic I think is certainly one that you’ll certainly see how it operates and see how he operates within that realm. He’s a studious individual, really trying to perfect his craft at all times and he plays that ways and it shows. The way in which he certainly gets a tip on things that he sees, he reads and reacts extremely well. He’s fast. I think the numbers speak for themselves. It’s rare to see a guy with his size and bulk that can move like he moves. He’s a guy that’s versatile. Certainly going to be able to play three downs for us as well, fourth down if we happen to put him on special teams also because he’s capable of that as well. But a guy that’s extremely well balanced in that particular area. And the physical part of it is something that comes natural to him. I was sitting in the room talking with he and his mom and dad and he talked about his first experience playing football when he was 10 years old, having an opportunity to finally feel the contact out on the field and realize that it was something he enjoyed and looked forward to and you can see that in his play. He’s a guy that hits with leverage. It’s a nice striking force behind him. He’s a knock-back tackler and we certainly are looking forward to him coming in. He’s going to help us and help us immediately.”

LIONS LB JARRAD DAVIS

Opening statement: “Hello, everybody. Just thrilled to be here, thrilled to be a Lion. You couldn’t have told me I was going to be here. You just couldn’t have. You couldn’t have convinced me, but either way, I’m extremely thrilled. These past 24 hours have been crazy. I was trying to keep myself busy and then when the draft rolled around just meet up with my family and have my mom and dad here today just to share this experience with me. It’s all about family at this point. Without family, without the supporting cast that I had growing up as a kid, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am right now. I’m extremely thankful for everybody who has played a role in my life and getting me here. That’s why I play the way I play. That’s why I carry myself the way I carry myself.”

On if the high remarks regarding his character mean more to him than his football skills: “I definitely think so. I mean, you have to be as a person. Not only as a player, but as a person, you have to be built on something. Character, all the intangibles that come along with football players, you have to understand that football is only part of the day, so to say. Football is only part of the day. You have a whole other life outside of the game to live. If you can’t control yourself, if you can’t take care of business in that time, then you’re only going to be a football player for so long. I love this game so much, so I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that I’m playing this game for as long as I want to play.”

On recalling his days of playing football for the first time at 10 years old: “I was a young kid, man. I was young and my dad introduced me to the game. It was a game that I was really nervous to play. I loved watching it, loved watching an NFL game, loved watching the college game, loved watching my high school play. And going out there for the first time I was nervous and scared. Played running back and loved to run the ball, loved to run away from the defenders. But I got hit one time and after that one time getting hit it’s like, ‘Dang, do I really want to be doing this?’ But you miss just the enjoyment, the excitement, the feeling of camaraderie being with your teammates. Even as a young kid, to go out there and just have fun and play around, play the game and just be out in the environment that football brings is something that was extremely infectious to me as a little kid and it still is today. And it continues to grow each and every year as I get older.”

On if he only played running back when he was 10: “No, I played running back all through my little league years. I started playing linebacker when I was in middle school.”

On how it feels to play defense and hit the opponent compared to playing offense: “It’s an experience that’s unmatched, to be honest with you. I love hitting. I love striking people. I love just exerting force on another person. You can’t do it in any other way. You can’t do it on the street. You can’t do it at anybody’s house. You have to do it within the lines, within the paint. It’s something that I chase while I play the game. I need that.”

On his first impressions of Detroit and the Lions organization: “I’m honestly extremely excited. Just to be here and to be with a team like this, you’ve got a great group of guys that I’m looking forward to being able to work with on a daily basis and come to get better and to compete with each and every day. Not only to better myself, but better my teammates and better the team as a whole.”

On how he developed into a person of character: “At a young age it was instilled, man. I was a hard-headed kid growing up. Everything wasn’t peaches and cream my whole life, but at the same time it’s nothing that a belt can’t fix and a little bit of yelling. It’s nothing that can’t get fixed by a little bit of leather, man. My mom, my dad, they took care of me at a young age. I learned which way was the right way to go and I knew if I went the other way the belt was coming. But if I went the right way then good things are going to come. That’s how I attack things in life each and every day. If I do the hard thing now, later on I’m going to reap the benefits. So that’s how I try to approach things in my daily life.”

On what he knew about the Lions growing up: “To be honest, I’m going to be completely honest with you. I’m a huge Cowboys fan. I’m a huge Cowboys fan and I know it might sound crazy for me to say this with a Lions hat on, but I really loved watching the Cowboys growing up and I was all about the Cowboys, so I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to the Lions, but I enjoyed watching guys like Matthew Stafford go back and lead that offense. There’s a lot of quarterbacks across the League, but he’s a guy that’s very, very passionate and he’s one of the very few quarterbacks that have that ‘It’ factor in the League. I enjoy watching play and I’m extremely excited to be able to work with him. As a Lion I’m going to come in and I’m going to buy in day one. We’re going to be running mates. I’m going to be a guy that’s going to come in and help push my teammates and have them push back to me so we can all ultimately get better as a team and as a unit.”

On why it was important for him to stay home and watch the draft with his family: “It honestly just goes back to everything that I experienced as a kid. You know, everybody who put in any amount of effort to kind of mold me into the young man I am today, you know, I wanted to celebrate that moment for me, but also for them to just show exactly what they did for me and how precious that was to me. Not only the moment, but just the effort that they put into me. You know, a lot of kids don’t have people that take the time out of their day to come in and make sure that they’re doing their homework or make sure that they’re doing the right things with their friends, or make sure that they’re doing the right things within the game that they play, you know? I’ve had a lot of people in my life really just reach out and help me in numerous ways. It’s paid off. It’s paid extreme dividends.”

On how he stayed busy yesterday to keep his mind off the draft: “I mean, honestly I woke up and just gave my mom, my grandma, my grandpa a hug and a kiss and called my dad. Went to go get a haircut yesterday and with my boys, hung out with them a little bit. Went and walked around St. Johns Town Center down there in Jacksonville, Fla. Just hung out a little bit, you know, just keep my mind busy. Walk around in the sun, kind of drain myself a bit so I’m not too wired, too anxious. You know, just keep busy, keep busy. And then, I don’t know, around four o’clock I got to the hotel and just hanging out with my mom and dad, talking to them a little bit. Went to the pool, hung out a little bit and by the time I look up it’s 5:30 and we’ve all got to meet up in a little sports bar where we rented out. Just to sit in there and converse with everybody and see the clock ticking down, it got to the point where there were like nine minutes left. Nine minutes and 38 seconds left and I was like, ‘This is the longest nine minutes and 38 seconds of my life.’ But the draft started and we had a great time, man. We had a great time.”

On how he celebrated last night: “Well, we did like this little tunnel or whatever at the end and everybody had glow sticks. They made a little tunnel and I ran through and everybody was screaming and cheering. It was fun, man. It was fun, but it was a quick turnaround this morning. Had to make sure I could get up here and see the staff and just thank everybody. Thank Mrs. Ford and thank Mr. Quinn and thank Coach Caldwell for really extending themselves and making me the first pick for their team in the 2017 NFL Draft, man. Words can’t explain how grateful I am and how thankful I am for them doing that for me and my family.”

On what made him a Cowboys fan growing up: “My dad. My dad, from day one. He’s from Austin, Texas, man. He just, I don’t know. I just always saw that star on him and growing up, you know, I used to watch Emmitt Smith and all those guys really take off. I don’t know, I just loved watching him play. There’s been some bad years, there’s been some good years, you know, but I’ve always been a fan. That’s the kind of person I am, you know, I’m extremely loyal to whoever I’m dealing with at the time. So I’m a Lion now, there’s no more Cowboys. When we play them, then we got to handle business.”

On which player was better, Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders: “Great debate, great debate. No, I’m going to stay quiet on that one.”

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IPM Editor