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HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT **
(opening statement)
For our fourth round picks, since we had two after moving down in the third, DaQuan Jones from Penn State and Marqueston Huff from Wyoming. So, I'm excited to get both of these young men, I think the one common thing, as Blake (Beddingfield) I'm sure will attest to, is versatility. They can fit a couple of roles for us, which we feel like is an important piece and they're going to get an opportunity to see where they really fit in. So, with that, we will open it up to questions.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on Marqueston Huff)
I think there is two things to me that stand out with him. Number one, he's a good special teams player, and for a young man coming in here, who we're going to try to find out which role he's better at, as a safety or a corner, special teams is a great avenue to get started that way.
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD
(on Marqueston Huff)
He's been an inside nickel. He played in the nickel as a junior, safety as a senior. He went to the Senior Bowl and played a little corner and safety, so he's got the versatility like coach said to play either spot. Special teams is also another trait, he's got great height, weight, speed, an instinctive type player.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on which position is a better fit for Marqueston Huff)
I think if you look at our team, we've got some established guys at safety that will play. We've got some young guys who are competing at corner. So, we'll obviously give him an opportunity at corner with the idea that he can work some in at safety too and see where he becomes a better fit. Like Blake (Beddingfield) said, he's got some good measurables. He's got good speed. It's going to be a determination by him, I guess, where he's more proficient.
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD
(on Huff's best quality)
His best quality is good tackling. He is aggressive. He is a very instinctive type player. His speed actually shows up on film. The 40-time that he ran, the 4.4, shows up. It shows up on tape, shows up when he's playing inside the nickel as a junior, it showed up at the safety position as well. So, a little bit of transition this year, going from a corner to the safety. They made that move more out of a need spot this year, but he can play both.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on the team's cornerback position)
Well, we've got some young guys. I think one of the things I was most impressed about in the mini-camp was what I saw out of Blidi (Wreh-Wilson) and Coty (Sensabaugh). Two young guys that I think, watching them on tape last year, you didn't see a lot of Blidi, obviously you saw more of Coty, but you feel like you've got two young guys that are going to be competing for the spot there. So, we've added to that mix. That's one of the things we felt like was important, so we feel good about that.
(on DaQuan Jones)
He's an explosive player. He's played a number of spots on their line. I think he's going to get an opportunity to…the thing that was attractive to us, he played, he's a physical player, has a little bit of pass-rush ability, you see that, in what he does, but he's a good inside physical force. So, I think, for us, he'll be able to play all three positions inside and we'll get a chance to see where he fits, add some competition, a big guy. Those guys the way he plays, his size, those things as far as building a defense, he fits into that nicely.
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD
(on the importance of Huff having a good showing at the Senior Bowl)
I think it's very important for a guy from Wyoming to play against good competition, but the big thing for him was, day-in, day-out, the week of practice at the Senior Bowl, he was able to compete with some of the better senior wide receivers in the draft. It wasn't just a one game or two-game thing in the season, it was actually every day in practicing. You got to see it in the one-on-ones, you got to see it in the team drills as well. He's just a solid player, able to be versatile enough in the Senior Bowl to bounce from safety and corner.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on size on the defensive side)
It really depends. There are a lot of guys that maybe aren't that big that play with great leverage, that are good football players in this league. It really is ultimately judged by how they play. It's always great to have a guy that's big, but sometimes athleticism is important as well.
(on whether Jones carries weight well)
I think his quickness shows up on tape. In his couple of moves, I'm sure you guys may have seen the highlights, there's one little swim move he makes where he gets a sack on the quarterback from the inside position, that is pretty impressive. You see flashes of that in his play, so for a guy his size, you like that. That doesn't guarantee he's going to be successful, but yeah he does carry his weight well.
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD
(on whether Jones' weight change made a difference)
It was soft maturation as a player as well. He's always had a good work ethic, but once he shed a few pounds, you saw the versatility (inaudible). He played the five, he played the zero, he played the three, he lined up all across the board. Even in that clip coach was talking about, he made plays in that clip, and that's important as well.
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD
(on if the consistency concern of draft analysts is a concern to him)
Not at all. I think that is one of his strengths actually. I think being consistent at each spot and being a consistent worker off the field. I think he is a consistent type of player.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on if he gave any thought to taking a quarterback in the fourth round)
We talked about it.
(on if the secondary is not as big of a concern and that's why they waited)
One of the things that I liked about coming here is, and I'm speaking for myself personally here, that's a hard position to get guys a lot of times. I think a lot of time you have to go near the top of the draft to get guys that are legitimate starters. I think Ruston (Webster) and Blake and his guys have done a great job of looking at that position and drafting some guys that you think can develop into starters. I think that however it comes out between Coty (Sensabaugh) and Blidi (Wreh-Wilson), I think both of those guys are starters in this league and have the capability to be that. I don't think you can ever feel great because you just can't have enough of those guys who are starter type players. The one thing about Vern (Alterraun Verner), he showed last year on the field what he could do and he is a good football player. Now we are talking about two unknowns to a degree with Coty and Blidi. Yes, I feel good about both of those young men. I think it makes you feel a lot more comfortable about that position. If you look at where we were in the draft and the players that we took, we felt really good about the tackle that was in an important role for us and obviously, we had a need at running back as well. That's what has driven our decisions and it's a credit to the way this whole process and our scouts and all of the work that we put into it. I don't want to jinx myself by saying anything about the corner competition, but we feel good about the competition and the players that are there.
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD
(on drafting a corner 14 years in a row and if they need to get one every year)
Not necessarily. I think when you look at the players and you start to stack the board, corners always seem to sit around at a point. Whether it's Alterraun (Verner) in the fourth round just like Huff this year, you start to look at certain positions that happen to fall in the draft. That just seems to be the position that sometimes falls a little bit.
(on if he was impressed that DaQuan Jones stayed at Penn State and improved every year)
He was and was one of those senior leaders on the team. He is one of those guys that stayed with the program and stayed with the work ethic and was fine with the coaching change. He is one of those guys that we want to add to our team, obviously, with the character that he presented.
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on if it means something extra that he stayed it out at Penn State)
Sure it does. That's not an easy situation and just in meeting with him and speaking with him, he is an impressive young man. I think his actions of what he did there and how he is consistent over the years speaks a lot about him as well.
(on if he watched any tape of Taylor Lewan going against DaQuan Jones)
I can't remember. I think you get so geared in to watching that particular player that you don't see. Maybe Blake does.
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD
(on if he watched any tape of Taylor Lewan going against DaQuan Jones)
I don't remember a specific instance, but I'm sure they did.
