This week on the Gambo and Ash show, they interviewed Von Miller, the Texas A&M linebacker we are all familiar with. He is certain to be a top five pick in the 2011 NFL Draft next month. Ideally he will slip to number five because, as many have noted, he seems to be a perfect fit in the Cardinals' defensive schemes and would be the perfect pass rushing threat the team has lacked.
I love this kid and want him in Arizona. I'm with a lot other guys. He's going to make an impact from day one, even if he is playing a limited number of downs.
But one thing I find almost funny is how a young guy like Miller is trying to not say anything wrong. In th interview, you can tell he has more to say, but sticks to a few cliches. Notice how many times he talks about "taking it one day at a time" (much like his interview on NFL Total Access) and "being a team guy."
On being proud of his accomplishments at Texas A&M:
"Yeah. It was great to bring back a winning tradition back to Texas A&M. All the things we all enjoyed down there, we were fortunate to win again this year."
On how fun it was last season with the wins the Aggies had over Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas:
"Yeah. It was great. I don't think that's been done in the Big-12 to beat all four teams in one year. We brought the winning tradition back to Texas A&M. It was great."
On returning to school for his senior year:
"I wasn't in a bind financially to go to the NFL. I didn't need that. I really enjoyed college. I really enjoyed being with my teammates. I had promised my mom that I was going to get my degree. You know, mostly, I just wanted to be back with my teammates. I felt we had a chance to be a really good team this year. We had everybody coming back and I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to experience those games at Texas A&M. And I was fortunate enough and blessed enough to experience that this year, so it paid off."
On how he landed at Texas A&M for college:
"The first one to offer me was Ole Miss. Growing up, I wanted to go to Texas or USC, but those are the only two schools that didn't offer me. I was recruited by Texas A&M, well it wasn't really Texas A&M that recruited me earlier. I had a cousin that went to Oklahoma State. I visited him in College Station for a Texas A&M game versus Oklahoma State, and I just fell in love with the fans then even though I was on the Oklahoma State side. I just fell in love with Texas A&M. It was my junior year in high school, so my senior year when they offered me, I kind of had a feel of what Texas A&M was like. So when Florida, Oklahoma and all those other schools offered me, I still felt like home was Texas A&M. That's where I ended up."
On his position change in college:
"You know, I always felt I should be a linebacker, but I didn't grasp the position as well my sophomore year. It took me some time to transition to playing linebacker back off the ball like that because I had never done it before. It started when I played middle linebacker, they just told me 'just watch the guards and go,' but when I got to Texas A&M, in my junior year, it was really my first year playing the traditional linebacker spot, so it took a little trial and error, but I think I got it down now."
On being able to play in coverage:
"I always saw myself as an offensive guy. I always saw myself as a running back and a receiver. I always saw myself as a guy covering the ball. So whenever we had practice and be out there just with my buddies, I would run routes and I covered those little guys. That's just what I always saw myself doing. So when I'm covering guys like that, I kind of got a feel for it. It's easy when you are bigger than them and you can jam them up a little bit, but in the NFL you've got some talented guys. I feel comfortable in my skill that I can get it done."
On being able to succeed in the NFL:
"You just got to be consistent. I feel like you have to be consistent every play. You got to try to get every play to count because you never know when the opportunity is going to present itself. That's how I did it this year. That's been my formula for success, it's just to take it play by play and try to maximize every play. For the last two years, it's been working pretty well for me, so that's the formula for success I'm going to stick on, I'm going to stay on and just take it one play at a time and maximize my plays."
On what he knows about the Arizona Cardinals:
"I know quite a bit about the Arizona Cardinals. It would be a blessing to go out there and play for you guys. My strength and conditioning coach, he coached Larry Fitzgerald in college. It's all he talks about is Larry. Every day we're in the weight room, coach Dave Kennedy, he always tells us how Larry Fitzgerald did it. That's how he tried to motivate us in the locker room. I know a lot about Larry Fitzgerald. I know about Coach Whiz, too and all those guys. We have a guy up there playing outside linebacker From Texas A&M, Cyril Obiozor. He's playing outside linebacker there. You know with DD Dockett and all those guys, I know about the Arizona Cardinals. It would be great to get out and play there."
On whether he knows if the Cardinals will draft him"
"I don't know. I really don't stretch my mind about any of that stuff, really. I just take it one day at a time and try to maximize my days. Wherever I end up, I'll be happy to play for that team. I'm a team guy, so I'll be happy to do whatever."
On the comments that Dave Razzano made about his being a Vernon Gholston:
"I really don't try to focus on the negative stuff. All I can do is be the player that I am. All I can do is be me, not Vernon Gholston or anybody like that. All I can do is play like Von Miller. There's a lot of people out there, a lot of scouts. They play a lot of people out there to find the talent. Out of all those guys, you only hear him. That's a small percentage. I really don't listen to all that stuff."
On what is going on with the draft:
"I don't know about all that stuff. It's so far away. There's another month, but it's really a long ways away. I've still got a series of events that have to happen before I even get to that point. I still got a lot of stuff to do right now. So that's how I'm taking it, just one day at a time. I've always dreamed walking on that stage and shaking Mr. Goodell's hand and just be welcomed into the NFL, but I really don't know right now."
On being part of the players' lawsuit against the NFL:
"I was asked to help out those guys - Mr. Brady, Mr. Manning, Mr. Brees, Mr. Vrabel - and I'm a team guy. They could have picked anybody out there. They could have picked anybody and it just happened to fall on me. So I just took advantage of the opportunity to help out this elite group of guys. I just want to make sure that football continues to get played. I'm just taking it day by day."
On whether he is concerned about being blackballed or something similar because of his participation in the lawsuit:
"I'm a team guy. This group of guys is going to be my new team going into the NFL. I would hope it won't affect my draft status or anything like that. I'll eventually end up on one team. Whatever team decides to pick me, I'll be happy to play for those guys."