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C.T.: How many people were with you while the draft was going on?
G.S.: I watched it at home with my parents and my uncle. So just the four of us. I thought I would go sometime in the morning. Earlier than I did. Maybe the fourth-sixth rounds. So we just sat there. Then we switched it around and stopped watching the draft. We watched the Suns game, watched some Dodgers baseball.
C.T.: Did you keep obsessively checking your phone to see whether or not you were missing any calls?
G.S.: Constantly. And the thing about it is, I keep my phone only on vibrate usually because I hate all those different ring tones. But I had it on loud ... So every text or e-mail I got would ring really loud. It seemed even louder than it was. Then it would be frustrating when it was a friend texting or calling because I'd get excited when it rang and I was sort of trying to match it up by who was picking so I knew if they needed a lineman or whatever.
C.T.: When did you get your first call from a team?
G.S.: In the sixth round I got calls from the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers and the Miami Dolphins. They said I know it's been a long day for you, you're still on the board and we'd like to take you, but it's not our choice it's the GM's choice.
C.T.: As your name wasn't coming up were you angry, bewildered, or what was your emotion?
G.S.: It's probably one of the worst feelings ever. When you see guys going ahead of you at your position that you've never heard of, it just kind of gets old after a while. I was more bewildered than anything. I had realistic expectations but it was still tough to keep waiting.
C.T.: Did you break anything while waiting? Any interesting stories?
G.S.: No, I didn't break anything. I wasn't really mad. I went and shot some basketball. My parents were more nervous than me. My dad went on a walk and started gardening at like 7:30 in the morning. I don't think he ate anything all day. For me, I just wanted the right opportunity and I think I got that.
C.T.: Shifting gears completely, if you'd been able to pose in the Oregon football calendar what would you have been doing and what would you have been wearing?
G.S.: I probably would have a prayer shawl on to cover up the chest, belly area. I would imagine there would be a Jewish spin on it. As for the calendar I was there for the shooting and I was expecting racier pictures to draw in the women. There were more nipple shots that got cut.
C.T.: Who would win in a fight, Mel Kiper or Chris Mortensen? As a player did any of the analysts really annoy you?
G.S.: I think Mortensen would win. I think Mike Mayock on the NFL Network is the worst analyst because (Mel) Kiper and (Todd) McShay will admit when they're wrong and they don't say bad things as much on draft day. But Mayock just bashes people as soon as they get drafted. I listened to a lot of the draft on the radio Saturday and (Bill) Cowher was good. C.T.: Did you have much contact with your agent during the course of the day?
G.S.: We spoke about every round. There's not much he can do at that point. So not that much.
C.T.: Admit it, the first thought you had when Carolina drafted you was, is this South Carolina or North Carolina. Or have they merged?
G.S.: Even though I'm not from the South, I actually know which Carolina it is. I've been to South Carolina before. I've already heard Charlotte's a cool town.
C.T.: Do you believe your back hair helped or hurt your draft status?
G.S.: It probably hurt because that probably slowed my 40 time by .1 or so. C.T.: What was your first emotion when your name finally showed up?
G.S.: Actually I haven't seen it yet on television. I was watching the basketball game when I finally heard.
C.T.: So after all that time you didn't see your own name come up?
