Q)What weight do you want to play at on the next level?
Reggie Ragland – Alabama: I want to play about 250 or 245. I’m getting my weight down now training a little bit. I know I can play at this weight now, but I want to be faster on the field.
Q)Moving from inside to outside linebacker, have you talked to any outside linebackers what it takes to play the position on the next level?
Ragland: No, but I’ve seen and watched them and I know it takes a lot. You got to be able to jump in the flats and cover those guys.
Q)Why do you ask to play outside linebacker this week?
Ragland: I just want to show that I can cover and rush the passer. I want to show that I can do multiple things at the next level. I know I can play inside, but I want to be able to show that I can play outside too. If a guy goes down, I want to show I can go out there and play it too and not miss a beat.
Q)You’re only two weeks removed from playing in the national title game, why was it important to play in the Senior Bowl?
Ragland: It’s a prestigious game. Also getting to play in this game with some of my brothers that I won’t probably get to play with in the league. I get a chance to play with some guys I’ve heard about over the years of playing college football.
Q)What are some of the things you’ve picked up from him (Nick Saban) that are going to help you over the next week and in the NFL?
Ragland: Coach Saban taught me a lot. He taught me as a player to really pay attention to the detail of things. That’s the type of coach he is. When we game plan, he’s going to go over every necessary thing we need to do as a team. I’m going to learn a new scheme (in the NFL), so I’m going to go into it with the right mindset and I’m going to try to pay attention to the details of that scheme.
Q)What was it like waiting to get on the field for a couple of years at Alabama and being a backup?
Ragland: It was rough. You play in middle school, high school and coaches are throwing you out there getting a chance, but Coach Saban taught me about being a man. I was going to wait my turn behind guys like C.J. Mosley, Nico Johnson and Trey DePriest and all those guys and it really made me a better football player and I had to become smarter as a player too.
C.J. Mosley (Baltimore Ravens) is one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with and if I had a question, I didn’t have to go to coaches because I could go straight to him and he broke it down to me the best way that I could understand it.
