Leon McFadden converted from wide receiver to cornerback at San Diego State.
BEREA, Ohio -- Leon McFadden's press conference transcript provided by the Cleveland Browns.
(On what he knows about the Browns) - "I know that the team has a great fan base. Since 1999, it has been kind of tough, but the fans have stuck by their side. I keep hearing about this 'Dawg Pound' and that's something I want to be part of. I'm looking forward to that and I'm just excited to be here."
(On why he chose football over baseball) - "I just loved playing football, I'm very passionate about it. Baseball was the first sport I started playing obviously, because my dad played professional baseball. But, he didn't push me to it. He let me live my own dream and he's happy for me."
(On his father playing in the MLB) - "He played four years in the majors and four years in the minors."
(On competing for a starting job at right cornerback) - "I'm just going to come in and compete and give my all. Show my butt off and from there, we're going to see what happens."
(On how closely he paid attention to mock drafts) - "I really didn't pay attention to the mock drafts or any drafts like that, because of the fact that anything can happen. I never talked to the Cleveland Browns. I had no idea that they were interested in me. I just let it play out. I saw it, but I didn't buy into it."
(On watching the draft Thursday and Friday) - "I didn't just sit there in front of the TV. I was watching it with my family here and there, watching some of the guys I was training with go. I was proud of them."
(On taking advantage of playing in the Senior Bowl) - "I definitely took full advantage of that. Going down to the Senior Bowl, I wanted to just prove that the Mountain West Conference is in the shadows of the bigger conferences and there are players in the Mountain West. That was my task and I accomplished it."
(On if he has heard from any of the current Browns defensive backs) - "No, I haven't talked to any of those guys yet."
(On if he is looking forward to meeting them) - "I'm looking forward to it. Getting advice from the older, veteran guys and just trying to learn the whole system."
(On the Mountain West Conference being good prep work for NFL as a defensive back) - "(It's) Definitely good prep work. In that conference, they want to throw the ball a lot. You don't run into teams that just run the ball, pound for pound. Only the academies that we play, they would do that. Other than that, I think it has prepared me a lot for going against teams that like to throw the ball."
(On what he goes by Lee or Leon) - "I go by Lee, as well. You can go with Lee."
(On what game depicts what type of player he is) - "The San Jose State game this previous year. That was just the game that I got my hands on a lot of balls. They tested me a lot throwing the ball, so that could really show my coverage skills."
(On his speed) - "Yeah, I have some speed (laughs)."
(On when he stopped playing baseball) - "High school, I stopped in high school."
(On when in high school he stopped playing baseball) - "I stopped my junior year and I focused on football. That's what I wanted to do."
(On any word of advice from Brian Sipe) - "Yeah, Brian Sipe left me a voicemail last night. I got to it kind of late, so I'm going to call him later this evening at an appropriate time. He was pumped up, you could tell by the tone of his voice on the phone. He's happy for me."
(On how well does he know Brian Sipe when he was at San Diego State) - "I would stop by his office every time I would go upstairs to the coach's office and we would just talk a little bit about football. (We) talked a little bit about the Browns through this process, but like I said, I had no idea that I would be coming here. When my name got called yesterday, I know he was jumping for joy like yeah, another Aztec with the Browns."
(On if he knew about Brian Sipe being NFL MVP in 1980) - "Yes, I did know that. We did talk about that. We talked about a lot of tradition back at San Diego State and he would always give those speeches about tradition."
(On playing both ways in high school, why did he go to San Diego State and saying if he would play receiver) - "Funny you'd ask that. One of the reasons why I went to San Diego State was because they offered me to play receiver. Three days into my freshman camp, Coach Hoke told me he wanted to try me out (at corner). I could have an opportunity to start as a true freshman, so I said why not, I'll play corner. I had experience in high school. It's a lot faster game in college but, I did it, I never looked back and I'm not regretful of the choice I made."
(On if he is a wide receiver playing cornerback or a true cornerback) - "I'm truly a cornerback."
(On his evolution from a 160 lbs. freshman to now) - "I was 162 when I got there. The first year I played at 165 and I gradually gained weight. (I was) 170 the next year, 185 and then last year I just played at 190-192. It was just the weight room and eating consistently. Our weight room coaches always had a weigh-in every week, so we had to meet those standards."
(On if he played inside as well as outside as a corner) - "No, I only played left corner, inside. We run a 3-3-5 defense so we always had nickel guys in. So, I never played nickel."
(On if he noticed the Browns taking a long time to make a pick today and his thoughts on it) - "No, I didn't notice. I was traveling on the plane so I didn't pay attention to any of that. I was worried about getting here, so I didn't pay too much attention to it."
(On if it was true that he liked disrupting quarterback drills at San Diego State) - "Oh yes, that's definitely true. Defensive backs, we like getting into quarterback's heads, so that's what we did."
(On if the coaching staff told him the type of style they like their corners to play) - "Press and off. It just depends on our opponent and the personnel we were playing against. If you were a boundary corner you would press, it would just depend on the whole scheme of that week."
(On new Browns coaching staff telling him the styles they'll play) - "Both press and off. So, I'll see how much of each they will do."
(On his conversations with Ray Horton today) - "Basic information right now. I'm going to go much more in depth when I go back and talk to him."
(On his impression of Ray Horton) - "Yes, I think he is a good guy. I mean, like I said, when I go talk to him right now I'll have a better feeling of him."