**
GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER**
(opening statement)
First of all, I want to say thanks to all the scouts and all the support staff that put so much effort into this, not just this weekend but really all year long. Those scouts spend a lot of time away from home, away from their families and they have been here for two weeks grinding away. So for those guys I really appreciate it and all the support staff that is up there working with us late at night and kind of getting us through this thing. I wanted to thank them first.
(on the final three Titans selections)*
Deiontrez Mount from Louisville is height, weight, speed outside linebacker who started this year and did a nice job rushing the passer. He has the traits we look for. He'll come in and compete and gives up something on special teams, an athletic linebacker that should help us somewhere. Andy Gallik the center from Boston College, I love Boston College lineman. Every one of them play and they are all smart, tough, understand how to play the position. It doesn't really matter who their coach is through the years, they just seem to have that knack of playing offensive line and they make it in the league and they play. Tre McBride was our last pick. We felt real fortunate to get him. He was the best player on the board at the time. I think he can come in here and compete as well. He has height, weight and speed and did a good job in the all-star games and was a productive player at William & Mary. We're happy to get all three of those guys.
(on where he had Tre McBride rated)
We had him rated definitely higher than where he went. He did slip on our mind as well.
(on if McBride is rated in the bottom of the sixth or top of the seventh)
He was probably even a little higher than that.
(on why McBride slipped and if it had to do with the depth at wide receiver)*
There were a lot of wide receivers. This was an interesting draft because I think the depth of it wasn't that great and I think that teams were taking a lot of needs and taking chances on some height, weight and speed guys. It felt a little bit different. It was different, but I think we were fortunate to get him where we got him that is for sure.
(on seven of the nine picks being on offense and if it played out like he thought it would)
It did. There were situations where we could have taken a defensive player and didn't and just went with the offensive player and thought it was the best thing to do. It could have been a little bit closer with the gap, but that is the way it worked out. We did work in free agency to make sure we could take some offensive players in the draft.
(on if cornerback needs to be addressed for depth purposes)
Yes, probably so, but I think for what is going on up there in college free agency right now, I feel good about that too. I think we are going to have some good players come in here that can compete and have a chance to make the team.
**
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT**
(on drafting five offensive weapons)
I think it gives us competition in a lot of spots which I think we said earlier that we are trying to bring the best out of all of these guys. We like what we got. I think Tre McBride with the last pick it was almost like he was too good that we couldn't ignore it. It brings us in another receiver to that group which obviously we got additions in free agency and earlier in the draft, so it kind of changes that core which is good. We have competition there especially with a young quarterback. That is an important piece I think.
(on Tre McBride's return experience)
He has some. We will have a chance to look at that and see. We will figure that out as we get through it. You do keep that in mind, but this was more about the overall picture of him as a receiver.
**
GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER**
(on number range of college free agents he expects to sign)
I think we are 10-12.
(on potential of the majority of offensive line having three years of experience or less)
Well, it's just kind of where we are. We talked about that. We are fairly young on offense and hopefully it is a good thing that everybody grows together, you know that they are tight and they grow together and become a cohesive unit.
(on if Boston College draft pick Andy Gallik is a player who could push to be a starter or will provide depth and grow)
We will see. I think the kid (Andy Gallik) is talented and can play in the league. We'll just see where that goes.
(on how drafting a quarterback early impacts the rest of the draft)
For me it impacts the rest of the draft. In my mind, you have to do whatever you can to make him successful. That's very important. So from our vantage point it impacted the draft.
(on if anything played out differently in the draft concerning players they were possible close to getting)*
I think, probably. We have talked a lot about the depth. I think there were some guys, guys that went in the second round that you would have thought to have a shot at especially as high as we were picking in the third. So there were some pass rushers and things like there that we might have liked to have gotten. So, we'll see. We are going to sign some guys in free agency and (Deiontrez) Mount will help us. So, there were some guys earlier that we just didn't quite get.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on if Deiontrez Mount is the type of player that Dick LeBeau will have fun using in terms of getting after the passer)
We'll see. We brought him in for a visit and were really impressed by him. He's young. Last year was his first year starting which Ruston (Webster) said. He's intriguing and you know that's what you want. I feel like we have two veteran guys outside and we are trying to find…we have got a number of potential guys behind them, but whenever you get a young guy like this and see how he grows in the preseason I think is a good thing.
(on what he wants to see from Marcus Mariota in terms of knowing terminology when he returns to Nashville)
Well, just being around Marcus for the short time that I have, he will have a pretty good handle on it as least from what we have given him. We control what he is getting from the standpoint of his installations, but the terminology, the play calls those things I think he will have a pretty good handle on it, but we have got them a week before we have a rookie mini-camp so that will be a good chance to get in the meeting room and see the tape and marry that up and talk about the installation before the rookie mini-camp. So, we'll get a good jump on it.
**
GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER**
(on thoughts about the second draft working with Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt)
My thoughts are that I'm glad it's over, but it went well. I think everybody contributes and that is what we try to do, get everybody to make a contribution, scouts, coaches and all of us together. They did. We felt good about it. We attacked the offense obviously and so we are happy with where it went.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on how veterans should react to competition coming into the building)
Every situation is different. Some veterans don't help the younger guys out. But from what I've seen with ours, it's kind of the other way. I've been around some veteran players that really work hard to help the young players out. We talked about this the other day. This is the worst time of the year for a veteran player since you are bringing in a whole new crew of guys to replace them. But they are veterans and they understand what this game is about. To me, responding to the challenge can make us all better.
(on being excited about how offensively heavy this draft was for the Titans)
Well when you go with a quarterback at two, especially one you feel so strongly about, it's pretty exciting. I feel good about where we are and the pieces we have in place and what we can do with this. It's going to be a lot of fun to see how much we can grow in this offseason.
**
GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER**
(on assistant coaches and scouts not participating in the press conferences)
This was the first time when I came here that I had ever been anywhere that had happened. For me it was new. Kind of what I said was that we would make the assistant coaches available and the scouts too for that matter. Yeah, this was the first time I had ever seen that. I think for us it's easier if it's us two and you guys can talk to anybody that you want to.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on the excitement for new alternatives with the offense)
Well I'm excited about some of the guys that we've got here as well. We've been working with those guys last week and the second year in the system for them I think will help them. Whenever you throw competition into the mix, like I've said a couple of times, it makes us all better. I'm excited to see that. I know the competition that we are going to have against the defense and those practices on the field will go a long way towards helping build a foundation for us to be better offensively. That's one of the things that we absolutely have to do. We have to be a better offensive unit.
(on giving Titans center Brian Schwenke the chance to play guard with a rookie center coming in)
No, he'll stay at center. We've got enough guys that we want to look at at guard that we won't do that. It's better to keep him there.
(on when rookies will visit)*
The 11th (May) is the first day we can have them in here. Essentially what we are going to do for the first week is have a little split program going. We'll still continue the program with our vets in the morning and in the afternoon we'll flip it and go with the rookies. We'll have a chance to get them adjusted to what it's all about, lifting, get them oriented in the weight room with Coach (Steve) Watterson. After four days of that we go right into rookie minicamp for the weekend. Then that following Monday, we all come in together. That will be the first time that our rookies really, I mean they will see each other in the locker rooms and see each other in the building, but as far as being on the field or being in the meeting rooms together, we will have a week of orientation with the young guys at minicamp and then they will get together the week after that.
(on how long they are allowed to be on the field for rookie minicamp)
We'll have just like we did last year. We will have two Fridays, two Saturdays and one Sunday of that next weekend. We decided to give everybody Mother's Day weekend off this next weekend and then we'll have it the weekend after that.
