April 23, 2013
As a senior, Warford earned third-team All-America honors from The Associated Press and Phil Steele’s College Football. He is the first UK offensive lineman to be named All-America since Mike Pfeifer in 1989 and the first to receive AP All-America accolades since Warren Bryant in 1976. Warford earned first- or second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors the last three seasons, the first Wildcat to do so since Bryant in 1974-76.
Media Opportunity – April 23, 2013
On how hard the wait has been leading up to the draft…
“I just get too nervous. I just want to find out. I could be on the other side of the coast, so just trying to wait and figure out who really wants me and where I’m going to end up. It makes me nervous but really I shouldn’t be because I don’t have any control over that.”
On if he has any idea on what round he will go in…
“I’ve been hearing anything from second to fourth but again any trade could mess up somebody’s draft plan so I’m not really listening to that but I’ve heard somewhere from second to fourth.”
On what he does to pass the time a few days before the draft…
“Play bass guitar, fish, play video games, work out, just anything to get my mind off of it. I go driving for no reason. That’s really it, just lay down and try to relax.”
On where he plans to watch the draft…
“I’ve been debating that. My dad wants me to come down and have a party with the family and all that but I kind of don’t want to do anything for it. I kind of just want to sit at my house and play video games. I am going to be nervous the whole time so I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to be doing.”
On if the draft process has been what he expected it to be…
“It was a little bit more time consuming than I thought it would be as far as how much time out of my day it takes. I thought it was going to be a little more free than being at UK because I have class and practice and tutors. I thought once I get done with all that stuff I thought I was going to get to rest all day and go work out once or twice. It’s actually been pretty time consuming but it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been around the states working out for teams and just meeting all these new people and it’s been real fun, all the great people I’ve met.”
On if it’s hard to believe he is going to be an NFL player…
“It’s still kind of like a dream. Since its not here it doesn’t really seem like its real but I’m getting all these calls from these teams asking me for my information for draft day. It’s like, ‘whoa, I’m here now.’ It’s only a couple days away so the fact that it’s getting so close it’s become more reality and once that day is over I’m going to be in it so I’m pretty excited for that.”
On if returning this year to play as a senior was a good decision instead of leaving early last season…
“Absolutely, I wasn’t ready last year to come out as a junior. I had a lot to work on. I feel like through this season I’ve have gotten to play against a lot better defensive tackles with the addition of Missouri and going out to play Florida and Georgia those guys have a lot of great defensive tackles so I got to improve my game a lot and it’s helped me out. Being coached by Mike Summers, I owe everything to him he’s such a great coach and I just want to represent his teachings that he gave to me in the NFL. I feel like it was a great decision to come back.”
On how he is different as a person now than a year ago…
“Honestly I wasn’t even debating it last year. I knew that I had a lot to work on and I still believe I do. I’m not a perfect offensive lineman, nobody is, and there’s always something to work on. Keeping that point of view throughout my entire career at UK has helped me progress as a player and become a good one. I’m going to try to keep that mentality and never become complacent with where I’m at.”
On how he has become a different person over the four years at UK…
“I’m a lot more confident in myself. I’m very critical of myself still but when I first got to UK I thought I wasn’t great at all. I went from high school to college and I wasn’t dominating like I was but I failed to realize that there is a lot better talent in college. Having gone through my years at UK these last four years and steadily becoming a better player, I have gained a lot more confidence in myself and my play and it has helped me progress a lot.”
On what it means to be the first offensive lineman drafted from UK since 1993…
“I just want to represent my university. It’s a great place I’ve had so much fun and I have gotten a lot out of it and to represent UK in the draft it means everything to me. This is something that I really have been wanting to do and take a lot of pride in.”
On if he thinks this will start a string of more UK offensive linemen getting drafted…
“Yeah I’m hoping. We’ve got a lot of good guys on the offensive line this year. We had a lot of young guys (last season) and we had to throw them in the fire right away because we were pretty thin on the offensive line. With them gaining that experience it’s going to make them great players. Darrian (Miller) is going to be really good. Zach Myers and Zach West, I saw those guys play and they are going to be good ones, so I’m hoping that I won’t be the last one for a while and I believe they can change that for sure.”
On listening to his high school coaches telling him how good he can be…
“I wish I would have listened to them a little bit more, it would have made my life a lot easier as a freshman. Coming in and doing the conditioning test it just woke me up that I needed to do something about my conditioning when I first got here. If I would have listened to them and ran a little more I wouldn’t have been hurting as much. It would have been a much easier transition for me if I would have listened a little more.”
On if he will get in touch with his high school coaches after the draft…
“Absolutely, I still have their numbers. They are my friends. I love them, they have been supportive of me throughout my career and been keeping in touch with me. I will keep in touch with them when I get into the league.”
On being in the business of the NFL…
“It’s different, it’s a lot different. This is somebody’s job. Teams are drafting you to take somebody’s job. I don’t want to say it’s not as friendly but people have families now and they’re not going to take that sitting down you have to come in ready to compete and you have to be a man. That’s probably one of the biggest things, you are trying to take somebody’s job and that person isn’t going to lay down and let you.”
On the spring game …
“When I walked into the spring game I was in shock. I have never seen that before. I wanted to jump back on the field with them and wanted to be out there with those guys in that excitement. Coach Stoops has been doing a great job in getting people back in the program again and doing a great job with the excitement of the team. I go out to practice and talk to the guys and they are so energetic about it and so excited about what is to come. That plays a big role into how well they will do this season because if you are excited about it then it makes you want to learn and want to be better. Coach Stoops has been doing a great job about that and I am excited for them.”
On how many NFL teams he has talked to and worked out for …
“Probably talked to all of them. Worked out for four teams and visited a few. I just have to make one of them like me. I am excited that they will like me and I am hoping that one of those teams will draft me.”
On what he has done since the season ended …
“Yeah, I have been working out with Charles Bentley out in Arizona. I think the lowest I got down to was 328 but honestly, it wasn’t my goal just to cut weight. It was mainly just trying to change my body composition to help me be more explosive and not put so much on my body. As a result, (of changing the body composition) I lost a pretty good amount of weight. I have slimmed down a little bit.”
On what feedback he has been getting and how offensive linemen get drafted traditionally …
“Tackle is always going to be the glamorous spot on the offensive line but this year’s draft the guards are really good. You have seen two guards specifically are first-round talent is what they are talking about. It has changed a little bit as far as the value. I feel that guards are more valuable than people give them credit for because you have to have them play those interior positions of the line. They are a little bit more valuable if you can play all three interior positions.”
On being asked to play center …
“Yeah, definitely. Actually, I snapped a little bit at pro day for the Giants. They want you to play all three of those positions (center and both guards). They want their players to be versatile. You only get seven active linemen a game so you have to have one of those guys to be able to play the interior three. It is always good to be able to snap.”
On practicing some at center …
“Last spring I was actually the center for most of camp because Matt (Smith) had class. I had to step in and play center. I did pretty well, a lot better than I thought I would. I would get confused at times thinking I was the right guard still and do stupid stuff, but as far as working on it in the offseason I got a lot better with my snaps and more consistent.”
On coming back for his senior season and having more comfort level …
“That was one of the things that Coach (Mike) Summers emphasized this past season. He pulled me aside after the 2011 season and told me that he wanted me to take snaps for the whole next season because that was something the scouts would look at me for. So being able to be efficient in that has really helped me a bunch.”
On seeing his mother again, who lives in Samoa …
“I haven’t seen my mother since 2007 so I am planning on going to see her in the next two years. Hopefully, I can bring her back, even if it is just for a little bit. Bring her to some of my games. The last time she saw me play was 2006 actually. It was my (high school) sophomore season in California. She saw that game and she hasn’t seen my play since. Having her at one of my games would be amazing to me.”
On how tough that has been …
“It has been really tough. I want her around to see what I have been doing with my life and how I have been growing up and maturing as a person. The last time she saw me I was still a kid and running around doing crazy stuff. I have changed a whole bunch since then and she hasn’t gotten to see that. I have been keeping in touch with her but actual physical contact with her has been hard not having her here. She tells me to keep strong and keep working and doing what I love. I am planning on bringing her back soon.”
On going to the NFL after one year like some basketball players do …
“Nope. People would get hurt. It really would not be fair in football. If you go play college for one year, you are 18-19 years old? You haven’t matured enough yet emotionally or (in) strength. You don’t understand the game well enough. I don’t care who you are, you are going to get hurt. I think it is good you have to stay for three years. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. That is a man’s game in the NFL. I couldn’t really see that being a part of the NCAA.”
On football players going to the NFL after one year from a maturity standpoint …
“There would be a select few that could handle it financially and being able to handle their money. A majority wouldn’t. You go to a high school kid to one year in college to getting all this wealth and I don’t believe that you would have to the time to prepare yourself with that. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with that kind of money. People would be wrecking their lives buying everything and wasting their money and not being prepared for what comes after football. For a lot of people, football is everything and they don’t have anything else. I can’t see that.”
