Could you get us up to speed on where you are medically in your recovery?
"I mean, medically, everything's all good. I was cleared by one of the best doctors in the entire country in Dr. Bob Anderson, he did a lot of well-known guys' surgeries out of Green Bay and now I'm back up to speed and getting everything back moving."
He's the Panthers team doctor?
"No, he was on team Andrews because I train out there at EXOS with Dr. [James] Andrews, but he's just a team Doctor, he was a team doctor for the Panthers and the Green Bay Packers."
What did you go through emotionally when you tear your Achilles and you have to miss your final season?
"I mean, emotionally, you kind of get down obviously because you planned on having a big season ahead of you, but you've got to kind of stay dedicated to the focus and the game and how you're going to get ready to come back and be ready than you were before that even happened. That's kind of where mentally I ended up being, just staying with the game and just making myself better in anything I do in my body parts and how I move."
Did you think your chances of getting drafted pretty much ended when you got injured?
"No, never that, man. I knew the type, the caliber of player I am and how much upside I have to my game. I knew that the season before, my film in 2016, I knew that spoke words for itself and I'm pretty sure coaches, obviously they knew what kind of player I was, and that maturing side of me, as well."
What do you know about the 49ers defense and where you might fit into the scheme there?
"Man, I mean, I watched them a couple games just here and there, but at the same time I know they have some great players and great players that come through there. I know it's held up to a standard and I'm looking to come in and meet that standard and do whatever coach asks me to do."
Are you more of a free safety type, strong safety type? How would you describe your game?
"Man, just honestly all-around, at safety, you know what I mean, you've got to do both. You've got to be able to play the run and you've got to be able to guard tight ends, it doesn't matter what it is. I've got a whole bucket list in my game and I'm ready to splurge out when I get on the field."
Your highlight reel, one of them online, the title was the hardest-hitting safety in the SEC. Do you take a lot of pride in how hard you hit?
"Oh, yeah. I always thought that since day one, I knew I was the hardest-hitting safety in the SEC. But, at the same time you've got to come out and prove it. I've been going against some of the best guys, [Jacksonville Jaguars RB] Leonard Fournette, [Washington Redskins RB Derrius] Guice, you've got those guys over there at Georgia, you name it. There's nobody that we haven't gone against, nobody I haven't stopped. But, yeah I definitely hold that to a standard, hardest-hitting safety in the SEC. When you name one better that goes harder and can hit harder, let me know."
How much contact did you have with the 49ers leading up to the draft and did you make a visit out here?
"Didn't get a chance to make a visit out there. Met with them at the Combine. Talked to the coaches and let them get to know me and who I am and where I come from. But, other than that, man, just kind of a little bit here and there. They text you a little bit and you know, so many different multiple teams, you can't keep up with it, but I'm glad to be a part of this 49ers organization."
Did you have a lot of contact with other teams while you were at the Combine?
"Yeah, when you walk into the Combine, you see a big room with maybe 60 to 80 tables in there with each team, each individual team in there and you've got to talk to all of them. That was the biggest thing, that was a great experience for me being able to go to the Combine, after the season that I didn't have. I was very confident."
Are you talking about the train station?
"Yeah, the train station. Exactly."
Did you get cleared at the Combine or did you have to go back for the re-check?
"I got cleared before the Combine. Probably like three weeks before the Combine I got cleared and took a visit to Wisconsin, my doctor cleared me then and I was already kind of moving around before the Combine. Thought I would be at 100-percent before, but I wasn't. But, through work after the Combine, and like you said, re-checks, they cleared me to go again. It was fine when I went to the combine and when I went back to re-check."
So you did go back for the re-check?
"Yeah, definitely. They wanted to see where I was at, see how my strengthening was going and they cleared me again. I've got nothing but good things from all my re-checks and all my doctors."
Have you run a 40 this offseason?
"Yeah, I've been running ever since I started back running. I can't stay off my feet. As long as I'm still running and still cutting and doing things that can make me a great player in this league, I'm blessed."
I didn't see the Combine time. I was wondering what you ran in the 40.
"I didn't run at the Combine or the pro day."
After not having played since 2016, how eager are you and anxious to get back on the field?
"Man, honestly, I can say 1,000. I've been studying film with some great coaches. You know, from being out, you've got to still work your mind. Working my mind, I became more a coach and just a student of the game. So, that's how I kept on with the game. But, once I step on this field, man, it's going to be electric."
What NFL player who you say you kind of model your play after?
"I kind of look at a whole bunch of NFL players, man. I take a lot, a lot of things, from great players, like [former NFL S] Brian Dawkins, [New York Giants S] Landon Collins, he's a great one. [Former NFL S] Sean Taylor, we can keep naming them, [former NFL S] Ed Reed. I just take a lot of things from people's game and add it to my own and make it something electrifying."
* Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers
