46 for 46: #3 Khalil Mack - In his own words

Khalil Mack - In his own words

Ohio State game...

"I feel it was, sort of, a little disrespect from a schematic approach. But, at the same time I wanted to make them pay for it."

Going to NFL...

"The toughest transition is going to be getting to know grown men in a professional environment. I feel like that's always going to be difficult at first, especially hearing some of the rookies that come down to Tom Shaws and tell us about the stories that they get from the vets, and all those different things so it's going to be a transition but I feel like football-wise I'm ready to step in and make an impact anyway I can."

Who in the NFL are you like...

I don't like those questions, because I don't want to be compared to anybody. At the same time, there's a lot of guys that I look up to and try to mimic my game after as far as Von Millers and Clay Mathews and Aldon Smiths and all those guys that get in the backfield, as well as get their hands on the ball and try to take it to the house."

Preference on position...

"I don't. I don't. And, I don't want to limit myself to just playing one specific thing. I feel like that's the biggest thing for me. I try to workout, when I workout with the defensive ends, I work out with the linebackers, I also go over and workout with the defensive backs just to stay fresh. I work hard, and I want to stay loose and don't want to put a limit on myself."

On getting picked in the first round...

I heard it from teammates, though. Davonte Shannon, Starks, Naaman … those guys would say, "Man, you are going in the first round." And I'd be like, "OK, OK. We'll see." But then I just kept working hard and now that I'm in that position, I can't let those guys down. I can't tell you how thankful I am for those guys instilling that in me. I'm not going to say they saw it before the coaches or anything, but they kept pushing me to do the right thing and work hard -- and I really thank them for that.

Advice....

My father always told me, "There's always someone out there who's working harder than you." And I didn't like that, so I'm always trying to make sure that I'm working as hard as possible. You've seen it. I put myself in that position, even in practice, where I don't want anyone to outwork me. I've been continuously working hard, and like I said, it helps to have great teammates that push you even further.

Going to the Bills......

Man … that would be a miracle. But I've seen it. I thought Steve [Means] was going to get picked by the Bills, for sure. And then you have Naaman, who went to the Bills as an undrafted free agent. I've seen it. It would be a lot of fun and definitely a blessing. I've gotten pretty used to it up here -- you know, except for the weather. It was 55 last week and today it's 20-something.

On Mike Mayock........

Mike Mayock is the man! He is the man.  I want to prove him right.