Transcript: Defensive Lineman Jordon Riley

Defensive Lineman Jordon Riley

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your journey and what it's like to be here after all the different stops that you made in college?

JORDON RILEY: Words can't describe it. I came a long way. This was just a blessing to be in this building. I come from a small town in Durham, North Carolina. Opportunities like this are slim. I really think it's a blessing, and I'm just glad to be here. With all the stops, I just think I fell in the right place here in New York. I'm just blessed to be able to be in this great tradition, great building.

Q. What was your Saturday like? Did you expect to get drafted? What was Saturday like for you?

JORDON RILEY: Yeah, I expected to get drafted. I think just nervous because it's been a long time coming. This is something I've dreamed about since I was little. But I knew the time was coming. I just didn't know when.

Q. Are the Giants a team that showed interest in you going into the draft?

JORDON RILEY: No, I didn't know. I didn't know any of that.

Q. What in particular do you want to learn from Dexter Lawrence?

JORDON RILEY: I'm just here just to learn, learn every day. Not necessarily just him but just with all the guys, the coaches, coaching staff. I'm just here to work. I'm just here to soak in all the information I can from anyone, any other vets. I'm just here to learn.

Q. What exactly do you know about Dexter Lawrence or Leonard Williams?

JORDON RILEY: I really don't know too much about them. Like I said, I just came in ready for rookie minicamp. I'm just blessed to be here. I met Coach Dre (Patterson), the D-line coach, and I'm just ready to learn from him, his coaching style, and that's what I'm here for.

Q. Can you talk about the initial meeting Coach Dre? What was that conversation you guys had or what did you talk about?

JORDON RILEY: We're just learning how he wants things, coaching style. It's a different coaching style. Just learning how he wants things. He's a great coach, got a long history in this league, and I'm just blessed to be a part of his room.

Q. Can you talk about your journey from different schools to where you are now; did you ever lose the faith, let's say at stop number two, as opposed to where you ended up. Did you ever think this was possible?

JORDON RILEY: No, I didn't ever lose faith. I believe in God and everything like that, and I just kept going. I just knew that I just couldn't stop. I've got a little daughter at home, and she means the world to me, and I just think me stopping wouldn't have helped her, so I just felt like, just keep going. That's all I was thinking about.

Q. Joe Schoen, the general manager, said when he walked onto the field at Oregon, you said you were easy to spot, your size. Is that something that you get a lot from these scouts, that they liked your size?

JORDON RILEY: No, not really. A lot of them watched my film and they liked what I bring to the run game and stuff like that. But other than that, no, I didn't really hear that.

Q. Are you like 326?

JORDON RILEY: I'm around 320.

Q. Is that less than you were or more than you were from like this time last year or when you played last year?

JORDON RILEY: Yeah, it's more or less. More or less.

Q. Did they want you to get down -- do you feel better this way? Big guys, sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down.

JORDON RILEY: No, I feel like I'm good at this weight.

Q. What did you learn at community college? That can be a humbling thing to go down -- what did you learn in that year there?

JORDON RILEY: It was definitely a humbling experience, just coming from DI and just being out there, not having all the resources, not having all the help that you usually get at DI, it really taught me a lot. It helped me be the man I am today, and I just appreciate being out there.

Q. How difficult is it to acclimate, fly into a new place, meet new teammates, meet new coaches, go on a new practice field, be in a facility that you probably don't know which way is left and which way is right?

JORDON RILEY: It's kind of like my journey. I've been different places. I've been to different colleges, and I had to meet new people, new facilities and new coaches. It's all a part of my journey.

Q. On your journey, when you go into a new place, what have you learned from those experiences that maybe translates to now going into the pros? What do you take with each of your stops?

JORDON RILEY: Each part was a part of my journey. I just feel like I just learned to just never stop, never get too down on myself, just keep going, keep pursuing. Even all the adversity I went through, I think just stay humble and just keep going.

Q. Does it matter if you line up in an odd or even position or you just line up, doesn't matter what front you're in?

JORDON RILEY: No, I'm just here to play football. We haven't really talked too much about that. I'm just here for rookie mini-camp, and that's all I'm here for right now.

Q. What were you doing when you heard the word you were selected?

JORDON RILEY: Man, I was speechless. It was a dream come true. I think that's for everyone, just a dream come true. I'm glad I got the call. I was with my family, so it was definitely a special moment.

Q. Are you the kind of guy that thinks it really starts when you put the pads on? Obviously, this is important, but do you like the next phase, the next phase of camp?

JORDON RILEY: I'm all about right now. I don't really think too much in the future. I'm just here right now in the present.