NASIR ADDERLEY & TREY PIPKINS INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE
Saturday, April 27, 2019 | Hoag Performance Center | Costa Mesa, Calif.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS SECOND-ROUND SELECTION SAFETY NASIR ADDERLEY
On the past 24 hours:
"Man, it's been incredible. It's truly been a dream come true. Just to get the call from the Chargers organization, it's just unbelievable. I mean, I just first want to give my thanks to the Spanos family, [General Manager] Tom Telesco and [Head] Coach Anthony Lynn. I just really appreciate them believing in me. I'm just really excited to get to work."
On why he believes playing for the Chargers is a great fit:
"Ever since my visit, meeting with all the coaches and everyone around the building, I just got great vibes. Hearing about the defensive back room, hearing about the defense — I'm going to be part of an organization that's winning games and on the brink of a Super Bowl. It's everything that I wanted and I wouldn't want it to go any other way."
On his time since landing in Los Angeles:
"It's been great. I've had a lot of time meeting with all of the different coaches. This is a lot of excitement. I'm just very blessed to be here. Once again, I'm just eternally grateful for them believing in me."
On his interaction during the pre-draft process with Defensive Backs Coach Ron Milus:
"Especially today, we started going right into the defense. We started the install. I really enjoy listening to him. I love the way he teaches. I just know it's the right fit. I didn't work out during the pre-draft process. At my pro day, I unfortunately had a hamstring strain. It was a mild strain. I went out to Indianapolis and had the medical re-check. I'm fully healthy now and going to be good for rookie minicamp. I didn't work out for any teams because of that."
On following his cousin Hall of Fame DB Herb Adderley:
"He's my grandfather's cousin. It's a blessing. He has helped me out tremendously over my career just in terms of — not only on the field, but off the field. I mean, he's been extremely supportive of me and genuinely happy for me. He's just as excited as I am. Ultimately, he just wanted the best fit for me. He spoke it into existence. He said that he felt like the Chargers were going to make it happen. We're very happy."
On if he talked to Herb Adderley last night:
"I did. I did as soon as I called him on the phone he was like, 'Hey!' He was very, very excited. It felt really good."
On potentially playing alongside S Derwin James Jr.:
"I cannot wait. The whole defensive back room is just incredible. I just can't wait to learn from those guys. They play at a very high level. I just want to come in right away, contribute and show that they can count on me. I'm going to lean on them heavily throughout this process just so that I can learn the ropes to make this transition as smooth as possible as quickly as possible."
On if he was in Philadelphia yesterday:
"I flew in [today] from Philly, but we were actually at a Dave & Buster's in Plymouth Meeting, which is in Pennsylvania. It was an amazing experience just getting picked by the dream team, the team I wanted to go to all along. It really just was a dream come true. I wish I could really describe that feeling. Once I got that phone call, once I saw that area code — I was just out here on a visit — I saw Santa Ana, Calif., and I was like, 'Yo!' It was just amazing. I broke down right away. I knew God really had a purpose for me coming out here."
On his draft party:
"So we rented out the room and we had a bunch of TV screens up. We were all watching it and had a buffet. After we got the call and everything, we celebrated and then we went down and played the games. It was really a lot of fun."
On areas of his game he feels he can improve:
"One thing I really want to work on is my pass-reads, specifically against RPOs. I want to work on just my knowledge of the game. I know from college to the NFL, there are going to be a bunch of differences. I'm ready to come in right away and attack the playbook. I'm going to compete just as hard as I do in the weight room and on the field as I do in the playbook. I want to master that as quickly as possible and contribute right away."
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS THIRD-ROUND SELECTION TACKLE TREY PIPKINS
On playing for a team with recent success:
"It's unbelievable, honestly. It's hard to put into words just because I'm so appreciative to [General Manager] Tom Telesco and the Spanos Family and [Head] Coach [Anthony] Lynn that they took that chance for me and gave me this opportunity. I'm just very appreciative and thankful for the opportunity to play with such a high organization."
On if he felt football would be his career when he was a smaller player:
"I was always that kid that said he wanted play professional sports. A lot of kids [say that]. I was 5-11 my junior year of high school before I hit my growth spurt. Up until then, I still loved playing the game. I was a tight end. I was pretty good, but I was 5-11 and once I hit my growth spurt — I was still under the radar, I only had that one offer [to the University of Sioux Falls] – that's when it started to click a little bit."
On when he really started to grow physically:
"I went from 5-11 to 6-6 the height I am now, in the span of like three or four months. I went up in weight to maybe 235, 240. I went to college and that's where I really started to grow."
On growing seven inches so quickly:
"It was crazy. It was lot of growing pains. I was really lanky and awkward for a little bit, didn't really know what to do with all my extra limbs. Once I started to grow into my body, it was pretty crazy."
On transition from TE to OL:
"It was weird because I didn't play offensive line or anything like that before. As a tight end, I was blocking and things like that. I wasn't doing a lot of pass-blocking though, as a tight end in high school. That's really what I had to learn — with my basketball background, that's how they taught me to pass block. That was first day. They just kind of threw me into the fire. They were like, 'Just play basketball. Just stay in front of him.' I've obviously gotten better with my technique since then, but that's still kind of the mindset."
On if he entered draft process with a chip on his shoulder:
"A little bit. I was eager for all those opportunities just because I had heard so many questions about if I could compete with top-level talent and things like that. At the [East-West] Shrine Game and at the [NFL Draft] Combine, I was just really eager and thankful to have the opportunity to prove myself. I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder just because I had heard so many of those questions and I was kind of sick of hearing it, but it was good."
On what position he played in basketball:
"Even when I was 5-11, I was still playing the '4'. My mom was a post player, so that's just what I knew. She taught me post moves from a very young age."
