Q: Do you feel like you have had a good spring?
A: I feel like I'm doing pretty well right now. Every day that I step out on the field I feel I'm progressing. I work on different things and try to become better for myself – not only for the coaches but for myself so I go home and have a good chance at laying my head down and go to sleep.
Q: What was your mindset coming into this spring – what did you want to achieve?
A: I just wanted to come out and show the coaches like I have been doing each and every year that I'm here to help this team. And that is what I was brought in for three years ago and I'm still here fighting each and every day to help this team and to go out there and to make plays.
Q: Tom just told us this spring should be a big boost to your confidence. Has it been?
A: It has been a big boost to my confidence but I feel like I have approached this spring like I have approached every spring – just trying to come out here and progress every week and every day and do what I have to do to show these coaches that I'm here on this team for a reason.
Q: For a couple of years there it seemed like you were the forgotten man, whether it was being inactive or you were not getting the reps in practice. Is it good to know now that you are getting their attention and whatever you are doing is catching their eye?
A: Yeah, it is great to know that I'm getting their attention. There were times when I really didn't know what to say but I went out every day and I practiced hard and I went out every day and did what I had to do so that I could continue to show these coaches that I'm on this team to make plays and help this team.
Q: Is this spring a little bit different for you in what they are asking you to do?
A: No, I don't see any difference. It is the same thing since I have been here. It is just about me going out there and executing and doing what I have to do.
Q: Does hauling in some long passes at practice get you excited?
A: It gets you very excited. We are in the new field house- it is 100 yards. So we have room to maneuver and room to do a lot of different things. So having the deep plays called and you have an opportunity to go out there and catch it ……big ……over the DB's….. That speaks volumes.
Q: When they drafted you speed was a major component of that. How exciting is it that it is finally maybe going to be utilized?
A: This is very exciting. I had some minor setbacks my first year and I got injured. Things happen. I still had a positive attitude and still to this day I have a positive attitude every time I step into this locker room to go out and make plays for this team and show these coaches why I am here on this team. I never look down on myself; I just go out there and continue to work.
Q: Knowing that Amani and Plaxico aren't back, do you see this as an opportunity year?
A: I see every year as an opportunity to go out there and make some plays. But this year, by those guys not being here, it is wide open for anybody to step up and really make some plays and contribute to this team. I feel like that is why we are here on this team – to contribute. (This) is our time to step up and win some games.
Q: When they drafted you ………
A: It makes me smile, actually. When they drafted Steve I smiled. They drafted Mario, I smiled. Just having guys in that I watched when I was in college, now they are on the same team as I am. I wish them luck. That is why we are here together today, working hard and trying to compete. We had an opportunity to step on the field together; it is going to be real good; it is going to be exciting. It really doesn't do much for me. It just makes me go out there and just continue to work hard. I know that those guys are coming in also to work hard. So, hey, we just have to step up.
Q: So when Nicks and Barten – two more smiles when they were drafted?
A: I was happy for them. Because a lot of people don't realize that it takes a lot to get drafted. So by seeing those guys being drafted in the first and third round, I was happy for them. I was more happy for them than to think about, 'oh, these guys are coming on the team and they might do that and they may do that.' I was just happy for those young men. Because I remember being drafted myself.
Q: Did you at all start to wonder, 'I've done everything I can, I still can't get on the field. Is it ever happen here?'
A: I always wondered that. Things really sometimes didn't go my way. But I stayed at it. I came to practice with that same attitude. I always ran fast, I always listened to the coaches. I always did what they asked me to do, never complained. And whenever I had my opportunities in a game I stepped up and made plays. So there is no reason for me to be mad at the coaches or look down on myself. But when I am given the opportunity to go out and make the plays, I go out and do that.
Q: You never saw this as a 'make or break year?'
A: I don't look at it like that. I look at it as another year for me to go out here and to show myself, show my teammates and show the world what I can do. I have a lot of naysayers – people say I can't do this, I can't do that. I have been hearing that all of life. I have been hearing …….not going to make it to the NFL. That is just something for me to look at and to listen to and to out here and just perform every week and perform every day. I can't worry about what those guys say but it does bother you when people tell me what you can't do. You are not me so you can't tell me what I can't do. So that is why I step out on this field every day and I have the attitude of going out there and just making playing and helping this team. So my coaches can know, hey, when it is time to play in the game, "Hey, give this guy the ball."
Q: Do you feel like there might be a chip on your shoulder……….collectively as a group?
A: Yeah, I feel like there is a big chip on our …shoulders. Because you hear a lot things, "They don't have Plax, they don't have Amani. So these guys may not do this, they don't have any deep threats." We have Domenik Hixon, Steve Smith, myself, Mario Manningham. I can go down the list of guys that we have here that can contribute and make some plays for this team. So as a group, everyday, we look at each other, "Let's go; it's time to go. Let's do what we have to do to help this team."
Q: You said before that you always come in with a positive attitude; you didn't complain or anything. There are a lot of guys that probably would have complained in your situation and thrown a fit or even asked to be traded. What kept you from doing any of that?
A: Just my faith and my belief. What I live for, what I live by. So I know how hard I work each and every day and I know what I put in. So it never crossed my mind for me to come in and pout or to come in and complain or to be mad at my coaches. Things happen for a reason. That is how I look at it; things happen for a reason. But I continue each and every day to go out and perform and I show these coaches why they drafted me, why they have me on the field and why I'm out here. So that is why I have always kept a positive attitude because I know what I bring to this team; I know what I'm capable of doing when given the opportunity.
