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DraftTranscript: Conference Call with Minnesota Vikings fourth-round pick Dru
SamiaNew
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with Minnesota Vikings fourth-round pick Dru SamiaMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY
SportsShortly after he was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round
of the 2019 NFL Draft, Oklahoma offensive lineman Dru Samia got an opportunity
to speak with the Twin Cities media via a conference call.Here is a transcript
of that call, courtesy of the Vikings Public Relations Department.Thank you guys
for having me. It’s been a long process, but I’m very happy to be a Minnesota
Viking. Very excited to join this franchise and take this offensive line to
where it needs to be. I’m excited to get back on the field.Q: How much does it
mean to have four Oklahoma offensive linemen get drafted already?A: It means the
world. A lot of people come in to college and are like, “We’re going to come in
and we’re going to ball out and get drafted,” but it’s rare that you can have
that whole group do that. We’re just blessed that we had a great coaching staff,
a great culture at Oklahoma and we were able to accomplish what we wanted to.Q:
Was there any competition amongst that group as to where you all were going to
go and who would draft you?A: Yeah, we have competition all the time. Cody
[Ford], he’s going to take us out for our first meal together, so it’s on Cody
now.Q: Where are you going to go eat?A: I’m trying to pick somewhere expensive,
he went high. I don’t know, we’ll see. It’s not my money.Q: How comfortable do
you feel in the zone running scheme?A: I’m very comfortable. I felt like at
Oklahoma we ran a pretty versatile offense, so whether I went to a team for
power or zone
Dru Samia
Jersey nfl draft , I felt like I was going to be a good fit. Of all the
NFL coaches that I was talking to, they said that I was more of a zone scheme
guy. I’ll just trust the NFL expertise. I am ready to get into this scheme and
get things going.Q: How much did you talk to the Vikings leading up to the draft
and what were those conversations like?A: The conversations were always good
with the Vikings in particular. I always got a good vibe from them. My agent was
always telling me that the Vikings were really high on me. Throughout this
entire process, I was always thinking like, “Man, Minnesota is probably going to
be the spot.” I was even looking up things. I didn’t’ know anything about
Minnesota to begin with. So I was like, “Man, where is Minneapolis? How much
does it cost to live there?” Stuff like that. I have been planning to be in
Minneapolis for a long time. I am very excited it came to a head.Q: Do you
remember Adrian Peterson from Oklahoma playing for the Vikings?A: Hell yeah, I
do remember that.Q: Have you ever seen his film?A: Yeah, I’ve seen the film.
They have it running on the TVs throughout Oklahoma everywhere, just trucking
through people around the field.Q: How much of an influence did Bill Bedenbaugh
have on your career?A: I can’t even put it into words everything that that man
has done for me. All of the linemen from Oklahoma, he took a group of kids who
had talent, who had work ethic. He was the one who really cultivated that,
taught us how to play the game
properly
Ben Gedeon
Jersey , and taught us how to study the game properly. I owe so much to
Coach Bedenbaugh. He is a huge reason why I am here right now.Q: Do you have any
areas of your game you want to improve at the NFL level?A: I feel like I need to
improve on body control. I feel like that was one knock on my game that was
pretty fair throughout the entire draft. Whenever someone said that, I was like,
“Okay, that’s a fair assessment.” But I’ve been working on it, trying to get my
stability down. It’s coming along, but once I can start playing under control,
which I have, but once I start really playing under control 100 percent I feel
like good things are going to happen.Q: How much pride did you guys on the
offensive line take in blocking for back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners?A: We
took pride in that every single day. Coach B [Bill Bedenbaugh], his main
statement that he said to us was… I won’t say exactly what he said, he used a
lot of cuss words, but he pretty much said to take pride in who you’re blocking
for. Every time someone gets hit, that’s your fault. It’s up to you to defend
your brothers. Your brothers are out there working their butts off every day,
and you’re not going to go out there and let them get hit. We’re the protectors
of the
team
Cameron
Smith Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , we were the wall, and we took incredible
pride in our play.Q: You played tackle and guard at Oklahoma. Is there one
position you feel most comfortable with?A: Not really. It was just early on in
my career that they needed a tackle, and later on they needed a guard. I feel
like I can play at anywhere. Obviously just kind of have to adjust at the very
beginning learning a new position.Q: Have the Vikings talked to you about which
position they see you at?A: They definitely said the interior of the offensive
line, and I would guess with them drafting [Garrett] Bradbury that it’s 100
percent going to be guard. Whichever one they need me at.Q: Are you more
comfortable moving laterally or are you more of a north-south type of guy? How
do you see yourself fitting in with the technique of the zone scheme?A: I feel
like I’ll fit in with the technique very well. But I don’t really have a
preference as far as moving laterally or north and south. Just kind of depends
on the play. Outside, inside zone, power, just whatever the set up angle is, I
feel like I can move laterally or north and south.Q: What it like to watch Kyler
Murray go first overall?A: It was awesome. There was all that hype leading up to
the draft. Everybody was trying to nitpick every little thing about the guy, but
we just sat back and were like, “Man, Kyler is going number one. We don’t really
care about what they’re saying on TV right now.” We’re very excited for him, and
we know that that dude works his butt off too. Just excited where he went where
he deserves to go. He was the best player in the country.Q: Can you confirm
which high school you went to in California?A: I graduated from River City High
School in West Sacramento, but all my football was played at San Ramon Valley
High School in Danville. This
offseason
Minnesota
Vikings Jerseys 2019 , the Arizona Cardinals inexplicably offered former
Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Sam Bradford a two-year contract worth $20
million a season. Bradford’s hold on the Cardinals’ starting quarterback job
lasted about three weeks before they turned the reigns over to rookie Josh
Rosen, making the contract look even more ridiculous.On Saturday, the Cardinals
released Bradford. . .and, in the process, may have hosed the Vikings out of a
high-level compensatory draft selection.According to Mike Sando of ESPN, by
releasing Bradford before Week 10 of the season, the Cardinals have gained a
sixth-round compensatory pick of their own, and in the process have apparently
deprived the Vikings of what would have been a third-round compensatory pick for
Bradford.The cancellation chart that the folks from Over the Cap put together
each season has proven to be pretty accurate, and as of now they have the
Vikings receiving four compensatory picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. One of those
was a pick for the loss of Sam Bradford. Now, it doesn’t appear as though that
will be the case. The Vikings’ signing of Kirk Cousins is “canceled” by the loss
of Case Keenum, according to the chart, and it would appear that Bradford is no
longer going to be a qualifying free agent loss.The potential loss of a third
round pick is pretty huge for the Vikings, given that they’re already out a
fifth-round pick (for Trevor Siemian) and a seventh-round pick (for Brett
Jones). Over the Cap still has the Vikings projected to receive a sixth-round
pick and a pair of seventh-round
selections
Cameron
Smith Jersey nfl draft , but let’s be honest. . .that extra third round
pick would have been really nice to have.It’s also my understanding that if the
Cardinals had held onto Bradford until Week 10, then he would have counted as a
qualifying loss for the Vikings and they would likely have gotten that third
round pick after all.Once we have more clarification on this, we’ll have another
update to the situation. However, it appears that Sam Bradford has found a way
to, at least indirectly, kick the Vikings in the groin one last time.UPDATE:
According to Nick Korte of Over the Cap, the Vikings won’t recoup the lost pick
for Bradford even if another team picks him up.
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