Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz met with the media to discuss Johnny Culbreath, the team's seventh-round selection in the 2011 NFL Draft. Via the Lions, here is a transcript of the media session:
On T Johnny Culbreath
"Johnny, four-year starter at South Carolina State, big man, good athlete, lower-level competition, but I spent a lot of time with him. Myself, Dave Sears our area scout, and Jeremiah Washburn our assistant o-line coach went down to South Carolina's workout. We happened to be able to see South Carolina State's also. It was raining so they came over to the indoor facility. They had a really, really good workout and his tape was good so we brought him in here to spend some time with our coaches. We like his size, we like his athletic ability, he's a little bit of a developmental project, but he has the tools. He's a guy that our coaches are very anxious to work with."
On whether he'll be an inside or outside player
"It's probably too early to say. He's played tackle, could play left and right; but there's a possibility to move him to guard. He's a good athlete, bends really well, again, four-year starter. I don't know if this is the gospel truth, but he committed to Florida State out of High School and didn't have the grades, so he ended up at South Carolina State. He's got a pretty good lineage. We didn't pick him because he supposedly committed to Florida State, we picked him based on his tape from South Carolina State, based on his size and based on the workout that he had and also for when we brought him in for a physical. He wasn't at the combine, so we needed to bring him here to get a physical."
On his athletic ability
"He's a little over 6-5, he was around 320. He ran really well. I don't want to go through and give you all the verticals and times and everything, but he ran really well and had a very, very good workout. Then you do a little more work and watch him on film and things like that. There was a lot to like about him."
On his background in wrestling
"You always like offensive and defensive linemen that have wrestling backgrounds with the balance and all that stuff. It's a very good... I don't want to say indicator, but I don't know the best way to put it, but it's good in your profile."
On anything that stands out in particular
"The guy has a good skill set. He bends well, he's a good athlete, there's a lot of different things with linemen. Some linemen are good technicians, but they're stiff. Everybody has a different skill set. This guy is a big, good athlete. That's what's interesting about him. Plus, like you said, he's not a one-year starter, he hasn't been bouncing around or one of those things. He went to South Carolina State, found a home and was a productive player there."
On his pass blocking
"He's a good pass blocker. We're not talking about a guy with the only thing they run is the wing-t and he can't pass block. They throw the ball, they move the ball around quite a bit. Everyone in college runs some version of that spread and like i said, he's a good athlete and can move."
On his feelings about the Lions' draft this year
"I think we had the discipline to stick with what we intended to do, which was stay with talent on the board. We combined talent on the board with a plan for that player and a fit in our scheme. We also took some opportunities to move up to take a player that we felt very strongly about, rather than sit out and wait on a player; we were very aggressive in what we did. We didn't end up with a lot of players, but I like the quality of what we came away with. We have players that can make an impact on our team and when you're doing that I think you feel good about it."
For more coverage of the 2011 NFL Draft, check out Mocking The Draft, SB Nation's NFL Draft hub, SB Nation Detroit's NFL Draft StoryStream and Pride Of Detroit's 2011 NFL Draft archive.