Latest / Seahawks Press Pass / Quenton Nelson: "I'm Honored That This Team Wanted Me Here"

Transcript

Quenton Nelson: "I'm Honored That This Team Wanted Me Here" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Thank you I'm sure it's been a whirlwind the last
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: few hours what was your reaction to the training what
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: are your initial impressions to.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Being here you know the reaction I gotta admit was
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: like a little bittersweet formed a lot of great relationships
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: and in the great community there but definitely excited for
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: this next chapter being here in Seattle I mean just
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: driving in and then the couple times I've played here
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: it's a beautiful state A really cool city. All the
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: nature here is sick. And then getting to meet some
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: of the guys, everyone's been super welcoming already, and the
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: coaches as well. And everyone, it's a family here. The equipment,
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: the trainers, it's been a great day and a half
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: so far.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Your name had been out there in rumors, but were
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: you still surprised that it happened, or were you anticipating
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: that something might happen, or what were you thinking?
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: I was just controlling what I can control, which is
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: being my best every day and doing my best on Sunday,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: leaving everything up to God. That's it.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: You scored a touchdown as a fullback and did a
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: keg stand celebration. I know it got called back, but
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: have you thought about talking to Brian Fleury about fullback
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: reps at all?
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: I have not, no. I've got to learn this playbook.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: I've got to do a lot of other stuff before
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: ever even considering that.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: What's that?
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: How is, what is Flory's scheme like for you? Like
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: how is learning that compared to what you've been doing
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: for eight or so years?
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Uh, it's a, it's a lot of the same stuff, uh,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: just different terminology. Um, and yeah, a lot of different terminology. So, um,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: just trying to learn that, uh, coach Q and JB
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: have been, uh, I mean, we met a lot, uh,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: all throughout the day yesterday and are just pouring everything
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: into me. Uh, so really appreciate them. And also, uh,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Sundell stayed around, which was nice. He was there with
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: me all night last night answering any questions I got.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: I was just going to say the guys here have
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: been great so far.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: How late are we talking last night? It was late.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: You played with Julian Love and there's a couple other
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Notre Dame guys here. I guess, does that help a
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: little bit?
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Jay Love, he's already come up to me. He's
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: asking how my family's been since the Notre Dame days
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: and saying like anything you need, you know, if your
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: wife needs to hang out with anyone, I could give
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: her my wife's number and all this stuff. So it's awesome.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: You just got married this past summer, right? And how
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: is that to have that go on and then, you know,
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: going all across the country?
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Business.
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Business as usual, man. It's awesome.
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: You met her in Indiana, right?
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: And you went to school in Notre Dame, of course,
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: the jarring transition of being two days in Seattle after
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: such formative years in your life in Indiana, how, what
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: kind of, how long will that transition take and how
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: real life gets into this? And what a big factor
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: is that for you?
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Um, I mean, I, I'm not really letting it affect me. Um,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: I'm looking at this as a new opportunity. Um, and
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: something I'm really excited about. And, you know, it's great
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: to have all those memories and years spent in Indy,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: but like I said, I'm excited for this. It's awesome
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: over here.
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: What was your reaction today to seeing Jeff Simmons get
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: traded to your next opponent after years of battling him
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: twice a week?
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he's an amazing football player and competitor. And, yeah,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: I was like, man, can't get away from this guy. Um,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: so yeah, it'll be another battle, uh, against him this week.
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: Would you describe your, your play?
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: Not so much about who you personally are.
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: I mean, the type of guard that you are, what
• 4:08
  Speaker 5: are some of the tangibles you think you bring?
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Um, I don't know. I, I think I just like,
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: what you can expect is to get my absolute best
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: every day. Um, at work, and on the field as well.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: I think I can move pretty well. I feel like
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: I could do any kind of scheme, whether that's gap
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: or inside zone or outside zone, pulling, whatever it is.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: We can get it done.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: You obviously can be a free agent at the end
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: of the year.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Do you come here hoping you can stay here for
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: a while, or what are your thoughts on that?
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Haven't really thought about it. I'm just, uh, you know,
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: excited to be here and going to do my best
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: and control what I can control.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: You played the Seahawks last year. Um, what did you
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: see preparing for that team? What was it like to
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: face them? And what was your general impression of the Seahawks?
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Uh, I saw two stud D tackles and I mean,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: the D line is just a filthy, um, the D
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: ends as well. And then, uh, I don't think I
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: gave the linebackers enough credit, like going into the game. Uh,
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: they definitely earned my respect, um, the way they were
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: coming downhill and hitting. Um, so, uh, yeah, it's a,
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: it's a great defense. Um, and it was a challenge, uh,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: playing against them.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: I think the fans here generally know how good Byron
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Murphy and Leonard Williams are, but you, you're the one
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: that has to try to block them in the past. Like,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: what is it like trying to deal with those guys,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: Murphy doing the drop knee thing that he does and
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: what the kind of special things that they bring to
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: the table?
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty impossible to move him, uh, from my experience. Um,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: And then Leonard, not only is he just like a
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: physical and like just like alpha of a D tackle,
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: but like his technique and the way he's able to
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: get his hands inside is really impressive. And both of
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: their pass rushes as well for being as good as
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: they are in the run game, they're really good in
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: pass rushing situations as well. They're not just one-dimensional.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Do you still do the Taekwondo regularly?
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: No.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 6:24
  Speaker 5: You don't often get to control where you're traded to,
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: but you are traded here defending Super Bowl champs with
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: the culture you mentioned. When you look at it through
• 6:31
  Speaker 5: that lens, how special is it that you didn't get
• 6:34
  Speaker 5: to pick, but it's this place trying to run things forward,
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: as they say?
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really special, and I'm honored that this team
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: wanted me, that the GM and coaches wanted me here
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: to add to their already amazing team. So I'm truly
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: humbled by that.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Did you have any say over where they sent you?
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: No, I was.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: I met with Ed the day before the trade, and
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: he told me that there were fielding calls and there
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: were a few teams interested, one of them being Seattle,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: but he said, like, how do I feel about it?
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: And I was like, you know... Um, that's what you
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: guys got to do. Uh, then great. And, um, uh, I'm,
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: I was happy when, uh, he called me in the
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: next day and told me it's, uh, Seattle.
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: Your first impressions of the playbook, how different is it?
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: How much of the run-up spin-up is going to be
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: till Monday?
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's, uh, it's completely different. Um, but I've got
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: great people around me, uh, helping me out, uh, between
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: JB and Q and then also the players in the
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: offensive line room. Everyone's super welcoming and they understand that
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: this is a whirlwind situation for me. You got to
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: step in and play left guard and pretty much get
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: a whole offense installed, new protection, learn that as well
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: and be ready to go on Monday.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: You've only missed four games in eight-plus seasons, played a
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: pretty violent position. What do you think has been the
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: key to your durability?
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: I would say having a really good routine of doing, like,
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: stretching on your own, activation on your own, eating healthy, sleep, getting, like,
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: physical massages, that are deep tissue and just like doing
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: everything in your power to be as healthy as you
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: can be has helped me a lot. And I mean,
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: this is a physical game, so you're still gonna deal
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: with Knicks and Knacks and what have you, but you
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: just gotta, you know, tape some stuff up and play
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: through it.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: It wasn't that long ago that guards were not the
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: most valued position out there. And obviously now it's like
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: really valuable to play that role. What do you think
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: people don't understand or maybe appreciate about what great guard
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: play can do to an offense?
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: I just think these D tackles, like we mentioned already
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: in this press conference, Simmons and Leo and Byron, blocking
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: those guys is a tough task. So it's important to
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: have a good O-line to combat that. And it all
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: starts in the trenches.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: You said it's bittersweet leaving Indianapolis. I'm curious just what
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: are you going to miss most about your time from
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: the Colts? Because it was a serious stint of time there,
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: wasn't it?
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say the relationships and with the guys
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: on the team, with my O-line coach, especially Tony was
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: awesome great and then the community there had a good
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: group of friends out there so I missed that.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: You said the playbook is quite a bit different is
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: it stylistically much different or is it more just like
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: the terminology being the shift that you got to get
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: up to speed on?
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: Um Terminology, and then it's no secret like Seattle uses
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: a fullback, and I don't think we did much of
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: that in Indy, so that's a little bit of an adjustment,
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: but it's all new terminology for me.
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: You were a basketball player of some repute in high school.
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: How does that help you in your position?
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: I think playing a different sport growing up, basketball and
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: being a larger person and having to cover people smaller
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: than you I think that helped with developing some quickness
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: and having to move efficiently to stay in front of
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: the person dribbling and stuff like that and running the court.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: I think running the court in basketball helped my endurance
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: a lot as well. All right, thanks, guys.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: Thank you.