Lions quotes: Jim Schwartz talks about Day 3 of rookie minicamp

Below is a recap of what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had to say about Day 3 of the team's rookie minicamp. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)

On WR Corey Fuller's speed adding to the offense: "Speed's always good when you're talking about wide receivers. Height is good when you're talking about wide receivers, but whether it's him or whether it's somebody else we have a little different dynamic with our offense because of Calvin (Johnson). The ability to run past somebody, a lot of times there's nobody else behind the corner, it's just the way people play off safeties leaning the other way, so it's definitely important for offense."

On his overall impression of RB Theo Riddick and not taking kicks: "We're working on all those areas, mostly the coverage stuff right now but this is just the rookie orientation right now, I wouldn't read too much into where guys are lining up or what drills guys are doing and things like that. We still have a long way to go with all that stuff. We wanted to look at them a little bit more in the coverage stuff."

On what he saw from WR Cody Wilson: "He's got great hands, has good quickness and picks things up really quickly. He was very, very productive at Central Michigan. He was one of the guys that came here when we had a local workout day. We have a time where we can have all the guys that are in a 50 mile radius come in and work out and he was one of those guys. Our scouts had already graded him in the fall. He doesn't drop many passes and he's in the right spot all the time. That's a good start for him."

On the possibility of any tryout players making it on the training camp roster: "There's no question. I just told those guys that every single guy that was here improved their status, whatever that status was, whether they were a guy that was on the practice squad for us last year. We think more of them after this rookie mini-camp than we did coming into it. We got a chance to see them work. All of our draft picks, we're pleased with all of our draft picks coming out of this, pleased with the undrafted guys that have come in. There will be some guys that might not get signed, but they might be first in line if we have an injury or we have something else that comes up. All of them improved as football players this weekend and when you're a player, that's what you have to keep your eyes on. You can't worry about roster and numbers and different things like that. You just have to keep your eye on steadily improving. They all got better as football players. We all think more of all of them after this weekend."

On who in particular caught his eye: "I think they are all pleased us. They all exceeded expectations, starting from Ziggy Ansah, go straight to our draft picks and the undrafted guys and the other guys that were here on tryout basis. There was nobody that came out of this that we were saying, ‘Why was that guy here or why did we draft that guy?' I think this is a good start for all of them. It's just a start. It's a rookie orientation, we sort of say mini-camp in there, but it's really not. It's a rookie orientation and they get their feet under them, they get in the offseason program and our draft picks and our signed free agents those guys will be here tomorrow working with the vets, lifting and trying to catch up in all the different things they have to catch up in. But this is a good start for them."

On DE Hank Keighley: "Tough guy. Really, really tough player. One of our strength coaches, Ted Rath, is from the University of Toledo and he had been a coach there when Hank started and he spoke highly of him. He did a nice job here this weekend. Worked really hard, he showed his toughness and showed his ability."

On G Larry Warford's injury: "I mean, it gave everybody a little bit of a scare when anybody goes down. But he bounced back from it quickly. Like I said, when he came back out to the field yesterday, even though he didn't continue practice, he was feeling a lot better then. He could have gone through everything today, but we just limited him to just individual today. We didn't want him going through any of the half line stuff or the team stuff or anything like that. So, we made the decision to limit him just to err on the side of caution. Like I said yesterday, he had a good weekend and it looks like we'll be able to put that behind us quickly, hopefully."

On what the next phase for players is: "Well, we're still in phase two of our offseason program. We have one more week of that, which means that they come in, they lift with teammates and go and lift with the vets. We have individual skill sessions with the coaches where they'll do technique work. We don't do any team work or any, you know, one-on-one or anything like that. But they're out working on position drills and things like that. We do that for a week and then we start up OTAs. So, they have this weekend to sort of learn their way around a little bit and next weekend to get indoctrinated and learn from the vets. Then we're right into OTAs and then mini-camp."

On LB Brandon Hepburn: "You know, the first thing you see with him is he's a good athlete. He's got really good size. Picks things up quickly. He didn't play at a big school, Florida A&M, but he picked things up real quickly and played a couple different positions for us. He played inside, also played outside linebacker and did a nice job on special teams."

On bringing WR Josh Cribbs in for a visit: "I think I'll just reserve any comments. I generally don't comment on guys that we bring in. I will acknowledge that he's scheduled to come in, but where that goes, how it develops, if that develops for when he ends up on our team, then I'll comment more on that."

On if the tight end position is in a state of transition: "I certainly don't look at it like we're getting rid of anybody. We're trying to get as many good players in there that fit a scheme as we can. Contract status and things like that don't even enter the equation at this point. We're just trying to put as many good players as we can on the field. We have a good feel for both of those guys (TEs Michael Williams and Joseph Fauria). One guy we drafted late, the other guy was a priority for us signing as a free agent. Both of them have a little different skill set and we think that they might be able to help in some way."