Q)Are you ready to play right away as a rookie?
Paxton Lynch – QB – Memphis: I’m not sure what situation I’m going to get put into. I’ll be happy and honored to go wherever I go, and however a team needs to use me, that’s how I’m going to be. I’ve always been a team guy. I’m not about myself.
Q)Questions about your footwork . . .
Lynch: Definitely just because of being in the shotgun and I know a lot of teams in the NFL, basically all of them, are under-center teams. But there’s been some coaches spitting some facts to me about like 61 percent of the snaps were out of the shotgun this year, so I think the game is kind of going that way. But obviously it’s still not fully that way, so I have to get used to those three-step, five-step and seven-[step] drops.
Q)How are you at keeping your eyes down field when you are running around?
Lynch: I’m still learning. I don’t think I’ve reached my ceiling. I don’t think I’ve reached my full potential. I think there’s still things that coaches can teach me to help better my game, and that’s definitely one of them that I can better.
Q)Does it motivate you those two guys (Wentz and Goff) are widely talked about as the top two?
Lynch: Yeah, I’m the type of guy who always finds something. There’s always something there to put a chip on your shoulder and drive yourself to work even harder. That’s how it’s been for me since I came out of high school. I mean I didn’t have any offers. I got to Memphis and people said, ‘Why are you going to Memphis? They’ll never win ball games.’ So we were the underdog there and look what happened.
I’ve been used to this, and I’m going to approach it like I always have. I’m just going to keep my head down, worry about myself and go to work.
Q)Are you surprised you’ve been able to put yourself in first-round conversation coming from nowhere and what do you think the qualities are that got you where you are?
Lynch: I’m not surprised just because I’ve always had self-confidence ever since I was a kid. I used to watch these guys on TV and I always dreamed I’d be there. I always had in the back of my mind that as long as I worked hard and kept my faith strong, God will give me an opportunity to accomplish my dreams and he has. I’m doing everything I can to accomplish those dreams.
