Transcriptions from Raiders draft picks Max Valles, Anthony Morris, Andre Debose and Dexter McDonald as furnished by the team:



MAX VALLES, DE, VIRGINIA

Q: Were you surprised or did you have a lot of contact with the Raiders before this?

Valles: “They only real contact was that I had a formal with them at the combine and got the call right before my name got announced on TV. That was it.”

Q: Apparently they are projecting you as defensive end. Is that what you figured going into the draft?

Valles: “Outside [linebacker] or defensive end. I’m comfortable playing both so it’s whatever they need me at.”

Q: What are the things you need to work on most?

Valles: “Just working on a backup pass rush move, if one doesn’t work. I’ve been working on that a lot this offseason. Overall just becoming a more physical player. Coming from college to the NFL, it’s going to be a much more physical game so I just have to step it up a notch.”

Q: You had two years of eligibility left. Was that a big surprise back there that you left school?

Valles: “Kind of both. I felt comfortable playing at the next level. It worked out.”

Q: Was it a tough decision or something you felt pretty strongly about?

Valles: “I felt pretty strong about it.”

Q: Did you seek any outside advice on your decision to go pro?

Valles: “I talked to my coach and my family about it. Everybody felt that I was ready. Second in the ACC in sacks, All-ACC, I felt like it was time.”

Q: Did you play a lot of special teams?

Valles: “Yes, my freshman year I played core-four [special teams units]. They took me off special teams before camp my sophomore year. Figuring my athletic ability and being a linebacker my first couple years, I know I’m going to have to start on special teams.”

Q: I saw that Eli Harold got picked by the 49ers. Is that cool having a teammate close by?

Valles: “That is right in the Bay? I didn’t even think about that!”

Q: Have you been out here before?

Valles: “I’ve never been to California in my life.”

ANTHONY MORRIS, T, TENNESSEE STATE

Q: Have you played more on one side than the other, and has it been strictly tackle? Where have you played on the line in college?

Morris: “I played right and left tackle. I’m versatile. I can move inside if need be. Wherever I need to be at, I’m ready to go to work.”

Q: What is your weight at right now? What do you think is an ideal weight for you?

Morris: “Right now, I weight 317. I think about 315 is the idea.”

Q: Did you know the Raiders were interested? Did you have conversations with them?

Morris: “Yes, on my visit I had talked to General Manager Reggie McKenzie. We had a good talk, he said some positive things, so I kind of expected it.”

Q: You came out here?

Morris: “Yes, sir.”

Q: Had you ever been out to California before?

Morris: “My visit to Oakland was actually my first time being in California.”

Q: Do you think being from a smaller conference and school will make it any tougher for you to get accustomed to the NFL?

Morris: “I don’t think it will make it any tougher, because I went against some good people [inaudible], a lot better than what it was a couple of years ago. I have the technique and athleticism to play in the pros.”

Q: You became a full-time starter as a senior. What was it that happened that caused you to become the full-time starter?

Morris: “Before, I had to get a scope of my knee, so going into my junior year, I was kind of behind with rehab and stuff, because the surgery was so close to the season. I didn’t show back up until about midseason of my junior year.”

Q: What can you tell us about your meeting with Reggie McKenzie that left you so encouraged about the Raiders?

Morris: “He gave me a nickname.” (laughing)

Q: What was the nickname?

Morris: “Big Mo.’” (laughing)

Q: Did the Raiders talk to you at all about their blocking scheme and how you might fit?

Morris: “I talked to the O-line coach [Mike Tice] and their assistant O-line coach [Tim Holt]. We talked a lot about the blocking scheme and stuff, and the pass scheme. It’s very similar to what I was doing in college.”

Q: How would you describe the college scheme? Was it a power scheme? Did you do a lot of lateral movement?

Morris: “It was more of a zone concept. We had a few power plays.”

Q: You feel you have the quickness to play that at the next level?

Morris: “Yes, sir.”

ANDRE DEBOSE, WR, FLORIDA



Q: Did you have any expectations in the draft?

Debose: “I just came into the draft hoping to get an opportunity. I didn’t have any expectations. I was hoping for the best the whole time.”

Q: What was your contact with the Raiders before the draft?

Debose: “We kept in contact a lot. I had a private workout with them earlier in the process. I talked to the special teams coach a lot throughout the process. We were definitely keeping in touch.”

Q: Is returning where you think you can make your impact in the NFL?

Debose: “I think I can make my impact a lot on the return game.”

Q: There has been a wide open spot for that here for a few years. Are you equally adept at kickoffs and punts?

Debose: “Yes, sir. I am. I like both equally.”

Q: Was it tough not getting invited to the combine?

Debose: “It was a hard thing to deal with. I knew that the combine doesn’t make or break you. If a team likes you, they like you. I didn’t let it bother me too much.”

Q: A lot of ups and downs with the team at Florida with coaching changes. How much did teams ask you about not playing in the final bowl game and about the direction of your college career?

Debose: “A lot of teams would bring up that question and I would bring up what really went down. They understood it, knowing what I’ve been through at Florida with all the coaching changes and not really being involved with the offense. They understood me totally with my decision about the bowl game.”

Q: What can you tell us about not going to the bowl game?

Debose: “I can tell you that it was just a decision between me and the interim head coach, D.J. Durkin, and we came to a mutual agreement. It was nothing disciplinary or anything like that. It was a decision I made and I was ready to live with whatever came with that decision.”

Q: What was your official 40-yard-dash time?

Debose: “4.35.”

DEXTER MCDONALD, CB, KANSAS



Q: Were you starting to resign yourself to the fact that maybe you’d be going the free agency route?

McDonald: “I wouldn’t say I resigned myself. I always have my faith. I was just hoping that the right team picked me up. Luckily I was blessed enough that it was the Raiders, who I had already visited with and fit my scheme and technique in college with perfectly. I would say it worked out perfectly.”

Q: Why do you think you fit them perfectly?

McDonald: “I think it works perfectly because I’m an aggressive corner. I like to use my hands and press and it just fits right in to the Raiders defensive scheme.”

Q: When did you visit with them?

McDonald: “The Raiders were the first team I visited with when I first started going on my pre-draft visits. It’s been such a crazy journey, I couldn’t tell you the exact date, but I visited with them. We went to the practice complex and I got to meet with the coaches and whatnot.”

Q: Did you come away from that meeting thinking it was the right place?

McDonald: “Definitely. I felt like after I got to meet the great coaching staff and got a chance to feel out the coaches and have them feel me out, I felt it was a place I could go play at and have a great chance of making myself a future in the NFL.”

Q: Is it true that you’re related to Brandon Rush of the Warriors?

McDonald: “Yes, sir. That is true. We’re cousins through marriage. My uncle married his auntie. We’ve known each other since about the fifth grade.”

Q: Have you thought about the fact that if you both stick around awhile, you’d be playing your games right door to one another?

McDonald: “No sir. It honestly hadn’t even crossed my mind. This all just happened so fast, it’s still just hitting me. I’m blessed to have the opportunity, like I said, to be a Raider. That hadn’t crossed my mind until just not actually.”

Q: On your Twitter, it says underrated. Why would you describe yourself that way?

McDonald: “I believe I am underrated. The fact that I went in the seventh round. My last two years at [Kansas], I got 30 PBUs [passes broken up], four interceptions, two taken back [for touchdowns]. I think everything I have to offer, my size, my physicality, my speed, I feel like I’m underrated. That’s definitely a chip that I feel like I’ll carry on my shoulder throughout my NFL career.”

Q: There are a lot of young cornerbacks and a lot of room for people to perform and move upward with the Raiders. That aside, what’s it going to be like to have a guy like Charles Woodson to bounce things off of?

McDonald: “It’s an amazing opportunity that I have ahead of me. I have a Hall of Fame coach, a soon-to-be Hall of Fame player, it’s amazing. For a player like me to be around that type of experience, you can’t help but to be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge as possible and try to use it to your advantage to make yourself a better player.”

Q: Did you do much special teams work at Kansas?

McDonald: “I didn’t play my last two years because we didn’t have much depth and [Kansas assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/defensive backs] coach Dave Campo didn’t feel comfortable with me playing special teams since we lacked depth at our position. I played special teams, every special teams position, when I was a redshirt freshman and my sophomore season.”

Q: Is it going to be nice to come here and have a familiar face in Ben Heeney joining you here?

McDonald: “It’s going to be awesome. I couldn’t believe the fact that I get to be next to a fellow Jayhawk. It’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be great for us to have the relationship we already had and be able to be away from home but still have a guy that I know I trust and have a great relationship with.”

Q: Have you heard from him yet?

McDonald: “Actually he just text me and told me to give him a call. He’s pretty busy. We’ll probably talk a little later.”

Q: Sometime in your college career you dropped 15 pounds. How much faster as a corner were you when you came back to that?

McDonald: “I was always fast. I ran a 4.37 this year and before then I was running the high 4.4’s. It might have helped me some. I think it just helped me be able to run with the faster wide receivers and not have so much weight on me; be able to move quicker.”

Q: Being from Kansas City, did you grow up a Chiefs fan?

McDonald: “No, sir. I wasn’t a Chiefs fan. I grew up playing basketball my whole life so football wasn’t really one of my main focuses. My mother is from Kansas City so she was a Chiefs fan.”