Bulaga transcript; will wear No. 75 for Packers

Here's what former Iowa offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga had to say during an interview with Green Bay reporters last night following his selection by the Packers:

Q. You must be very excited to go to the Packers, tremendous tradition. Not even a question.

BRYAN BULAGA: No, it really isn't. I'm ecstatic to be a Green Bay Packer. I grew up in Illinois and really familiar with the NFC North and familiar with what it's all about. I'm a cold-weather guy and it's going to be good for me to play up there.

The fans are tremendous. The fan base is amazing. I've only heard great things about Lambeau Field so I'm ecstatic to be a Green Bay Packer.

Q. Did you root against the Packers growing up in Illinois?

BRYAN BULAGA: I was more of a college football fan growing up my entire life. Obviously you are rooting for the Bears when they are doing well so obviously I think my allegiance has suddenly changed.

The Bears, no, I was never a fan. Never.

Q. Can you talk about so many great skilled players on offense for Green Bay, can you talk about how much you are looking forward to learning from them?

BRYAN BULAGA: Yeah, absolutely. They are a prolific offense. You see what they can do when Aaron Rodgers is able to stay up. He set some records, some personal bests last year throwing the football, so if you're able to give those guys time to catch the ball and throw the ball and give some leg room to the running backs, big plays can happen. I'm really excited to get around that type of organization and those type of guys because obviously they are going in the right direction and that's the type of organization I want to be around, one that's going up and one that I can learn from.

Q. What advice did Coach give you about taking it to the next level?

BRYAN BULAGA: You know, he didn't give me too much advice. Besides that, it's a big game of fundamentals, technique, because every guy is big and strong and fast. It's the best of the best of college. It really comes down to who plays with the best technique, who really wins, it's who is the lowest and who plays with the best hand placement. When you get to the next level, where the NFL, it's all about who can be the most efficient with the technique, I think that's the one thing that he's really pounded home to me.

Q. You are known as an outstanding run blocker; do you look forward to playing with Ryan?

BRYAN BULAGA: You know being from the Iowa system, we are really a run-first type team. We really like to run the ball and set up the play action off that. I think I'm going to be able to help out. I love to run block and get after it and he's a downhill type guy, seeing him run the football on TV, he really likes to get downhill fast, so I'm really looking forward to it and just getting to work, you know. This whole draft thing is drawn out and I'm just ready to get to work and help out any way I can.

Q. Have you talked to the Packers, if they have talked about left or right side?

BRYAN BULAGA: I haven't heard anything. Once I start working mini-camps and some OTAs and getting a feel where I'm going to fit I'm sure I'm going to find out more.

Q. Some people said you don't have a great reach but what would you say are your strong points?

BRYAN BULAGA: The great reach, there have been plenty of guys who have been able to play with 33-inch arms, I think is what you're talking about.

I think when it comes down to it, you have to put it on the tape and watch the guy play football. You can pick and choose on that but it's a game of technique and it's whoever plays the most efficient with that, I think is going to help out. I think I do that very well.

I pride myself on being a technician and I think being skilled in that aspect will help me out with my short reach, so to speak. (Laughter).

Q. Talk more about being a cold-weather guy and the division; you must be so jazzed up to be a part of those rivalries now, the Vikings and the Bears.

BRYAN BULAGA: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Growing up, those are the things, you know, in the NFC North that you watch and they hype up so much, those big rivalries. You see how hard they play when those games are going on, "The Black and Blue Division, " you know what I mean, just going after it.

I'm just so pumped up to be a part of that, and being an Iowa guy and playing in that cold weather in Iowa, it's cold in Iowa, believe me, when it starts to get cold, it's cold.

I'm really looking forward to getting into that and just being back in the Midwest and let's go, let's go.

Q. What's the first word that comes to mind?

BRYAN BULAGA: You know, can you even put that into words? That's hard to put into words, you know what I mean? Scary.

But they are all tremendous, tremendous football players, and it's going to be a great challenge. You've got to go into it being positive and looking forward and wanting to attack it, and then sitting here thinking, oh, man, who wants to go up against those guys. You have to be excited about it and look forward to the challenge. They are tremendous football players but there's a reason why there's an offensive line, to block those guys.

It's going to be tremendous to go up against talent like that. Those are the best of the best right there.

Q. Excited about working with Coach McCarthy?

BRYAN BULAGA: Absolutely. I had a meeting with him at the Combine, and the staff is great. The style of play is very similar to Iowa. So I'm looking forward to making it as easy as a transition as I can.

Obviously it's not going to be easy, but you know it's going to help out, that I can recognize maybe some style of play and technique that could help me relate back to Iowa.

Q. When did you think that maybe there was an inkling that Green Bay was going to pick you? Did you think that there was any chance of you going to the Packers before the Draft?

BRYAN BULAGA: You know, I never really thought about kind of where I was going to go. I mean, that was really up to my agent. I thought that, hey, there's a couple of teams that needed tackles and I thought, you know, depending on the run on them, I can really fall into any one of the slots and I fell into the slots of the Green Bay Packers.

You know, I couldn't really have told you two months ago, hey, I'm going to end up being in Green Bay or I'm going to end up being here or there. I wouldn't have known. A lot of trades happened today during the middle of the draft that really mixed up some orders and they just so happened that I wound up as a Green Bay Packer and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Q. Do you think sometimes it might be better to be picked down the Draft and be with a team that has a better chance to win now?

BRYAN BULAGA: Yeah, I think having that potential is all great and being a Top-10 guy, that's all great, but when you get to go to an organization like Green Bay where they already have a good thing going, they have great tradition and the coaches are great and the players are great; I think it's going to help me out tremendously being around a system like that, that we have things figured out here and if you jump into the system, they will be able to jump along, too. I'm very happy that that's where I'm going to be playing.

Q. Have you talked to Aaron Rodgers yet?

BRYAN BULAGA: I have not, no.

Q. Did you watch the Arizona game?

BRYAN BULAGA: Yeah, I watched it. I was actually training down in Arizona. I was at API training for the Combine. That was a phenomenal game, phenomenal.

Q. Hopefully you can change the end of the game this season.

BRYAN BULAGA: Let's hope. Let's hope.