1. What did it mean to you to be drafted and have the opportunity to play in the NFL?
"I always wanted to be a professional athlete growing up. I think it's cool that this is my job and that along the way I have all the people that have helped me like my parents, my family, just all of their hard work. They're a part of it too, so all of us are celebrating. It's cool that it's up to me to come out here every day and try do my best."
2. Who do you miss the most from home?
"Definitely my parents, my brother and our dog. They have a Great Dane named Odin. He has this big name and he's the most skittish, scared dog. He's massive and then you're like 'Oh he just wants to sit on the couch.'"
3. How did being a team captain at Notre Dame help prepare you to play in the NFL?
"I think it taught me a lot about responsibility and that it's not just about me, it's about making other people better. That was a big thing that I learned this year, especially with my injury. If I can't do it on the field, how can I find ways to lead and add value? That's what I'm doing right now when I'm rehabbing, how can I add value to the team and find a role."
4. What is your favorite Notre Dame tradition?
"It's kind of funny, but it was a big thing on campus. Anyone who has a bike, if you don't lock it, they'll (the students) just throw it in a tree. So you'll be walking to class, and you'll just see a bike sitting in a tree. That one, or the walk we do pregame. We walk from our basilica to the stadium and all the fans and students gather all around, so that's cool."
5. What's your favorite thing you've done in Seattle besides football?
"I've done a lot. I think it was my favorite. I did the Poo Poo Point Trail with my family. First of all, I didn't pick it, my mom did. They told me it was a walk, but no one told me it was two miles straight vertical, uphill. Pike Place was cool too. I like markets like that, and it's cool that Pike Place is the biggest one you can go to here. When you bring people here to visit, I get an excuse to go check it out. Like when my girlfriend came, she asked me what I wanted to do, and I was like I don't know anything to do, but I know this is cool, so we went and checked it out."