On joining the Ravens: "I couldn't be more excited. What a great program they've got up there. Coach [Gary] Kubiak and his offense and what they've done as head coach of the Texans – to come to Baltimore, I couldn't be more excited."
On the contributions he plans to make: "From the bottom. You've got to work your way in. It's a league where nothing is given to you. I plan on coming in to learn from Owen Daniels and Dennis Pitta and really being involved in that room to do everything I can to come in and help the team. We want to win games, so that's our goal."
On what he knows about Daniels and Pitta: "I've been watching Owen since I was a little kid. And Dennis, he played at BYU, and [with me] being a Ram, he torched us a couple times. It's been a great opportunity for me to watch those guys as a young college guy as it is, much less be in the same room with them now."* *
On his strengths and weaknesses: "My strength as a player is getting anything [going] with my hands, and getting that first initial step would be my weakness. But definitely a strength would be getting my hands on somebody – blocking, as well as catching the ball."
On if he expected to be picked in the third round: "I knew Baltimore's needs and a few other teams' [needs], and they're all right at the end of the third round. It was a good opportunity to be drafted there. You don't want to be disappointed; I don't know if you can be disappointed by the fact that you're being drafted in general. But to have this opportunity is unbelievable. I'm very excited to be a Raven."
On why he seems to know so much about the Ravens: "I've just always known about the Ravens. I've always been a defensive guy, and I knew the type of defense they've had. I just studied their offense when I got moved to tight end a few years ago, and I've just kind of known. Obviously, they're Super Bowl champions and all the success they've had [is noticeable]. Not many teams are like that. The Steelers are somewhat like that, but there are not many teams that do it the way the Ravens do it and continue to be successful. So, I was intrigued by them, and apparently they were intrigued by me. I'm just excited to be a Raven and get down there and get to work and win some games."
On when he moved from defense to offense: "As a freshman, I played defensive end. My sophomore year during spring ball, I was moved to tight end."
On if he feels like his draft stock rose over the past few weeks: "It did quite a bit. Colorado State is not really a hugely-publicized team, and I felt like I did everything I could to put myself out there. When we played our bigger games against Alabama and those other teams, I just wasn't utilized as much. When they said, 'We're throwing you the ball this week,' at the Senior Bowl, I said, 'Good, because I'm going to catch it.' That seemed to boost my stock a little bit from the outside perspective. But for me, I knew roughly where I was going to be. I was just excited to go."
