Transcriptions from Giants fourth-round pick Lorenzo Carter:
Linebacker Lorenzo Carter
Q: How does it feel to know what team you are going to play for?
A: It feels great. It's been a little time, but I've just been floating, waiting, trying to figure out where I'd be. So, just to get that call and know I'll be here just working, it's a very relieving feeling.
Q: What have these last 12-18 hours been like for you?
A: Fast. Once I got that call, everything has just been happening so fast. It still really hasn't hit me yet. But once I get up, get a chance to start working out with the guys, that's really all I'm looking forward to.
Q: Did you get a chance to meet first round pick Saquon Barkley today?
A: Yeah, I got a chance to see him, got a chance to talk.
Q: What was that conversation like?
A: Just excitement. We're just both excited to be here, excited for things to come. Just looking forward to getting the chance to work with our new team.
Q: What do you think you need to work on the most?
A: Just being more of a complete football player. Being able to play every down even little things, learning from the older guys. Having Alec [Ogletree] here is going to be a big help for me I think. Having somebody that's been here, done that, that can show me the ropes and just show me all the things that I need to do to be a good pro.
Q: Why do you consider yourself a pass rusher and what will you do to make sure that translates to the NFL?
A: Yeah, just because personally, that's the way I carry myself. I have confidence in myself and I trust my abilities. I've seen it, I've seen what happens when I get a chance to actually lock in a go hunt quarterbacks. So, I'm just looking forward to coming in here, being a part of that defense and just getting a chance to go get them. So, that's really it.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Giants pass rusher, looking at their history at the position?
A: Yeah, I have big shoes to fill, very big shoes to fill. But that's even better. It gives me more things to look up to, more things to go reach for.
Q: Why do you think you play the best in the biggest games?
A: It's when the lights come on. When the lights come on, you've got to do what you've got to do. In big games, big time players make big plays in big plays. So, that's just something that I've always heard. Maybe sublimely, it stuck somewhere.
Q: Do you have any sense of how you will fit into Defensive Coordinator James Bettcher's defense?
A: Yeah, just a 3-4 defense. Just going to Georgia, my numbers don't say the elite pass rusher I feel like I am, or a pass rusher. But that's because I was in a defense where I did a lot of things. So, coming into a 3-4 defense is right at home. It's what I do. I've learned probably five positions in a 3-4, so I can do it.
Q: What were your responsibilities besides getting to the quarterback?
A: A lot of responsibilities. I played nickel, I played Sam, I played Jack, defensive end, inside linebacker sometimes. So, I kind of had to know what the secondary was doing, how we were rotating, what the front guys were doing if they had any gains going on. So, being at Georgia really prepared me a lot for pretty much any defense that I come to face with.
Q: When did you get over Georgia's loss in the National Championship Game?
A: We're still not going to talk about that [laughs].
Q: Do remember a light coming on between your 2016 and 2017 seasons in college and was it a conscious thing that something just clicked?
A: Yeah, definitely. I feel like it was just, I wanted to become a more all around football player. Forget all the athletic stuff, forget just being a guy that can run around and look pretty. I wanted to go out there make plays and be an impactful player for my team. And that's what I tried to do this year and I did whatever the coaches asked and that's going to be the same thing on the next level.
Q: What was it like being a five-star recruit at an SEC school?
A: It was fun. I mean, at Georgia I had the chance to stay at home. So, being a five-star, it was fun, but you still have those expectations that you've got to go in there and play. So, if you aren't making results, then all that stuff goes out the window.
Q: Did you expect to get selected earlier in the draft and do you have a chip on your shoulder because of that?
A: Yeah, I expected to go higher. But like I said last night, God's plan has been there. It's been written before me or you even thought about it. But it was well worth the wait, getting a chance to come play for New York.
Q: Have you ever been to New York before?
A: I've been [here] once.
Q: Why were you in New York?
A: My agent, he's actually up here.
Q: Have you gotten the opportunity to look at the roster and think that you had to reach out to someone in particular for advice?
A:I haven't had the chance to. I just know that Ogletree is here and just from being at Georgia, and hearing about him, and seeing him on the wall and then watching him play in the league. It's an honor to just be up here with him and that's a Bulldog up here that I can follow and just see what I've got to do.
Q: You were on the same flight as Jets draft pick Jordan Jenkins?
A: Yeah, I was on the same flight as Jordan.
Q: What did the Jets get with Jenkins?
A: Great player, great player. A great player on the field and off the field.
Q: Are you going to try and live with Jenkins?
A: No way [laughs].
