Conference call with Joe Dahl
Courtesy of Detroit Lions media relations, here is what Joe Dahl said on his teleconference with Detroit media.
LIONS OL JOE DAHL CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET
On where he was when he received the call that he was being drafted: “I’m at my parents’ house in Spokane, Wash. and I was just ecstatic. I took the phone call, my whole family got really excited, so it was just a great experience.”
On if the Lions gave him an indication of what position he will play: “They haven’t told me yet or anything. I’m just kind of getting prepared to play whatever they want and just come in and compete.”
On his impressions of Lions Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach Ron Prince: “He just seems like a great guy. It seems like he really connects with players and I’ve heard that he’s a great coach. I’m really just excited to get to work with him.”
On if he is aware that the Lions have now selected three offensive linemen in the draft so far: “I just know that there’s a bunch of young O-linemen and everybody’s hungry to compete and I’m just excited to come in and help contribute to that. I’m just excited to be a Lion.”
On if he feels pressure knowing that there were two offensive linemen drafted before him: “No, definitely not. I don’t really care where I got drafted or anything like that. I just kind of see it as the same situation, regardless of who’s there. You’ve got to come in and work your butt off and just come in with the right mindset to compete and try to earn whatever you can get.”
On the contact he had with the Lions leading up to the draft: “Just about the same as any other team. I really had no idea who it was going to be, who would call me, but obviously they had some interest and I’m just excited that it worked out the way that it did.”
On if he talked with the Lions at the Senior Bowl: “Yes, I had a little bit of contact there and I talked to them a bit at the Combine as well.”
On his strengths on the football field: “I think the main thing is my level-head ability when I’m playing. I just never get too high or never get too low. I think I’m an intelligent player as well.”
On if he feels pressure to match the legacy of former Lions kicker and Washington State alumnus Jason Hanson: “No, not too much, just because we didn’t play the same position. But it’s awesome that I get to play at the same place as him. He just had such a great career and he’s a Spokane native. I’m just happy to be a Lion, just like him.”
On if he was aware that Hanson announced his selection: “Yeah, I was actually just told that. I missed the introduction because I was taking the phone call, but that’s awesome that he did that.”
On if he has any experience at the center position: “I’ve never taken live reps at it, but I’ve worked on it a bit, especially in the last couple months. But really, whatever they want me to play is what I’m going to play and I’m just really excited to come in.”
On if he feels more comfortable at guard or tackle: “It really just depends on whatever I play last. I played both of them in college and whatever I played last I’m more comfortable at, so whatever I get more reps at I think is what I’ll be best at.”
On if he has not played guard since his sophomore season at Washington State: “Yeah, that’s correct, and then I played it a bit, pretty much the whole week at the Senior Bowl as well.”
On how it felt going back to guard at the Senior Bowl: “It felt a little different at first, just different players to go against and different speed of initiating your blocks and things like that. But it felt more and more comfortable as the week went on.”
On how comfortable he feels as a run blocker: “I feel extremely comfortable at run blocking. We actually practiced it a lot more than we did in the games, so I’ve felt really good at it. I’m just more excited to implement it more at the next level. Teams really didn’t bring it up that much as I thought they would, but I’m just excited to, you know, hopefully show that I can do it at the high level I did at Washington State.”
On the amount of pass blocking he did at Washington State: “It’s a little different, that’s for sure. Not exactly what you dream of growing up playing offensive line. You know, you want to run block and move some people around, but it was its own challenge in itself and it worked really well for our offense.”
On his best interaction with his former college head coach, Mike Leach: “I don’t know, he’s just a different guy. I mean, you see him in the media, he’s just a character all to himself, but he’s a great coach and I had a great experience with him and I was just excited that he gave me the opportunity to play there.”
