Marvin Austin didn't play this past season. We did a lot of work on him. He was very highly rated on our board. The value was tremendous at that point. Again, we did a lot of homework on him. We couldn't pass him up.
Q: What kind of work do you do on someone who didn't play last season?
A: All you can do is look at his season before. He played in the all-star game; really into individual stuff. He was dominant in those drills. You see that he hadn't played all year long because I think he fatigued a little bit in the game because he wasn't in football shape. It is hard to get into football shape if you are not playing football. But you go back and look at his tape as a junior and you see a really good football player. Again, we had him very highly rated. This guy is going to be a tremendous player for us.
Q: Were there any other issues with him - was the agent stuff the only problem?
A: No other problems. That is it; no other problems.
Q: Did you speak with Hakeem Nicks when you were evaluating him?
A: We get our evaluation. We take players' evaluations of each other - that is a little bit dangerous for us. But we did talk to Hakeem a little bit. We always try to talk to players from the same school to just get their opinion on players. We always try to do that. But that could be dangerous in itself.
Q: It is crowded on the defensive line - do you anticipate it thinning out?
A: You never know. You just have to get as many good football players as you can, because injuries can happen. So good players - we try to get as many good football players as we can. And this guy is a very good football player. No knock on Linval Joseph - we think he is going to be a tremendous player.
Q: What was your impression of him when you sat down with him?
A: I think he was very remorseful. I think he was disappointed that he didn't get to play. He really wanted to play. He made a bad decision. He really wanted to play. We were disappointed that he let his teammates down and his school down, that he wasn't there to help them play and win more games. So we sat down with him and we interviewed him; we talked with him. The coaches talked with him. This guy is going to come in here with a chip on his shoulder with something to prove. I hope he will take it out on the opponent. But obviously, when he gets here we will keep a close eye on him like some other players we have had in the past.
Q: What did you see specifically see from the game tape of his junior year?
A: He is explosive; he is an explosive three-technique, a gap charger. This guy can get off the ball with tremendous speed. He has got a nasty motor - mean demeanor about him. He is going to bring that nasty attitude. Somebody described him as Keith Hamilton - not the body type but that nasty deamenor that Keith Hamilton used to play with when we had him here. So I like to have some big nasty guys in your front. I kind of like that.
Q: He hasn't played this year and with the lockout now, will he need time to be ready to go?
A: All of the players will need some time. The lockout - it is what it is. I really don't have a lot of comments about that but when it is time to play football I think he will be ready to go. He is definitely healthy. He didn't get hurt. He didn't have any injuries at all. He has gotten healthy and ready to go. We expect him to be up and running full go.
Q: Not playing might be an advantage - he should be fresh.
A: That is just what I am saying. He should definitely be fresh because he didn't play. But he did lose a year of playing. So that is a negative. It kind of balances itself out. He should be fresh and healthy, but he lost a year of playing.
Q: Did Prince get a playbook before he left today?
A: You can ask Tom that. I'm not sure if they gave him a playbook or not. I don't think you can do that with rookies - give them a playbook.
Q: What does this mean for Barry Cofield?
A: Barry is a free agent. All of that will take care of itself. So I'm not going to make any comments on Barry Cofield's future.