116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Brandon Scherff transcript
Apr. 30, 2015 9:59 pm
Q. Brandon, was Washington the only team you went to see?
BRANDON SCHERFF: No, it was not. I haven't talked to them since the combine, so I was pretty surprised, but I'm stoked and happy. I'm ready to go.
Q. What were those conversations like, and what were they like tonight?
BRANDON SCHERFF: They just said, I want you to be a Redskin, and I was like, absolutely, I love would that. I talked to Coach Callahan, and he said he loves the way I play, and they can't wait to get me out there.
Q. Did he talk about guard or --
BRANDON SCHERFF: Too early.
Q. Do you have a new hobby planned?
BRANDON SCHERFF: No, I'm into deep sea fishing. That'll work.
Q. Have you ever been to D.C.?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I have once for Boy Scout camp, way back.
Q. Did you like it?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I did, yeah. It was pretty neat.
Q. What did you do? What did you see?
BRANDON SCHERFF: We toured everything, saw the White House, saw all the monuments, and it was a good experience.
Q. Who was here with you tonight family-wise?
BRANDON SCHERFF: My mom, my dad, my girlfriend, brothers, sisters, friends, family. We had a lot of people.
Q. What was this day like for you? Did you sleep last night? What were you doing during the day?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Oh, I slept great. We visited a high school this morning, talked to some kids, and just a great experience. I'm glad it's over, glad we finally found out where it's going to happen, and just ready to move on.
Q. How soon will you report?
BRANDON SCHERFF: They said tomorrow or Saturday.
Q. How did Chicago do as a host city?
BRANDON SCHERFF: They did great. I had a great time coming here and doing all the events with everybody, all the players, and they have some fantastic food around here.
Q. Have you done any research on the Redskins, where you might fit in?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I have not. Not really, no.
Q. What kind of conversation did you have with them at the combine? They're one of the teams you talked to at the combine?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Yeah, just a regular conversation. They talked about my background, where I came from, talked about why I decided to stay for my fifth here at Iowa. That was pretty much it, just like every other team.
Q. Position aside, in what way do you think you could help the Redskins' line, the Redskins' offense?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I like to consider myself to be a nasty football player. I want to jump in and earn the respect from all the teammates first and then learn the plays and just go out and improve with all the guys.
Q. You said you wanted to come back and be the best lineman and improve your draft stock. In that sense did you accomplish what you wanted to by coming back?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Yeah, I set goals for myself that Brian Ferentz and Coach Morgan told me to set for myself, and I accomplished some of those, and I'm happy. Time to set some new goals for myself now, and try and reach those.
Q. What goals are they going to be that you're setting?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Just be the best player you can be, get a starting job on the line, and obviously everybody wants to win the Super Bowl, so that's the next thing right there.
Q. When you played right after knee surgery was there any question in your mind about sitting out that game?
BRANDON SCHERFF: There was a little question, but then I realized I could play, and yeah, I could do my job as good as I could there, and I told Coach Brian, he said, it's up to you, and I said I want to play, so he put me in there.
Q. Fifth pick, are you surprised you went that high?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I'm just happy. I talked to my agent, he said anything could happen. I just had my phone on the table, I saw it ringing, and I was like, oh, boy, here we go.
Q. Bill Callahan has a reputation as a good offensive line coach. What do you know of him and what was your conversation like with him?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Oh, he just said -- oh, in Indianapolis? We just talked about film, what my role is on each play, and just pretty much the background, and then they really didn't have me do any plays for them, they just had me draw up a couple plays for myself, and that was really it for them.
Q. Who called you first?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Coach Gruden.
Q. That's who was calling you on the phone?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Yep.
Q. What went through your mind?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Dream come true. Ever since I was a little kid I've always wanted to do this, and first it was playing college football, then I set I new goal for myself, and seeing that phone ring on the table, it was a big weight lifted off your shoulders, and it was like, yeah, now we can figure out what we're doing next.
Q. Are you familiar with The Hogs?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Yeah, from about a half an hour ago I was pretty familiar with them.
Q. Is there an offensive player you admire that's currently in the NFL?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Yeah, Marshal Yanda. He works out with us at Iowa City, and I try to do things he does. He does things the right way, just the things that he does in the off-season, some guys like to take that off, but Marshal is in there working out with us at 9:00 every day. That's why he's so good, so I just want to try to do the things that he does.
Q. You're from a small town. Do you think you set an example for kids that anything is possible?
BRANDON SCHERFF: Absolutely. You can't give up on your dreams. You have to set things that you want to achieve and just go after it and don't let anybody tell you no.
Q. Are you going to miss Pancheros?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I will, yeah, absolutely. I will miss Pancheros and Chipotle, so time to find some new food.
Q. You won't be that far from Marshal now, just like 40, 50 miles.
BRANDON SCHERFF: There you go. Yeah, maybe I can go talk to him and hang out with him, maybe go deep sea fishing.
Q. Is it starting to feel like a business yet? We asked you yesterday and --
BRANDON SCHERFF: Not yet. I'm still trying to grasp everything and just having fun tonight and just trying to relax first, then tomorrow wake up, and if I fly out tomorrow, then it'll feel like a business trip.
Q. What are your plans tonight, go out for dinner?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I've just got all my family back in the hotel room, so I'm just going to go over there and hang out with them and just relax and just enjoy it.
Q. Is the blocking style the same in Washington?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I don't know.
Q. First thing you're going to do with your signing bonus?
BRANDON SCHERFF: I haven't figured that out yet.
l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com
Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Brandon Scherff (Iowa) poses for a photo with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected as the number fifth overall pick to the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Daily Newsletters