On how his ankle is doing and whether the injury affected his draft stock: “The ankle may have hurt me a little bit. It’s feeling good now, though, and it’ll be ready for late-May, early-June. So, I’ll be able to be ready for training camp and that kind of thing. So, it’s going well and I’m excited to get started, and I think I’ll be able to compete right away.”
On what the issue was with his ankle: “It was a high ankle sprain during the season that never fully healed. I tried to go during the Senior Bowl with it, but ended up needing to get surgery, and that was in early February I got that done.”
On starting football later in life and if he feels like he has more growth in the game: “Definitely. I’ve only been playing football at a high level, really, since I got in at UVA. So, I think there’s definitely a lot of years of growth left in me. A lot of the American kids have been getting high-level coaching since high school and even earlier. So, I think I still have a lot of potential that’s untapped, and I’m excited.”
On wanting to be a hockey player growing up and if he decided he was too big to play around the age of 16: “It was around then. I was definitely the biggest guy and I’d get a lot of penalties that a smaller guy wouldn’t have gotten. So yes, it was right around that time that I decided to switch over.”
On if he was a fighter when he played hockey: “I got in a couple fights.” (laughter)
On if he feels like the five-technique is his best spot and where he feels most comfortable: “I think so. Five-technique is where I’m really comfortable. I first decided to go to Virginia in the first place because [the team was] running a similar 3-4 defense, and I thought I would be a good five-technique. So yes, it’s a great spot for me, and I’m really happy I’m in Baltimore.”
On if he feels like he is improving as a pass rusher and what he can continue to work on in that area: “Just pass rush in general. I didn’t get a chance to really go up the field one-on-one; I was often the spy for the defensive end. So, [there are] many aspects of pass rush right now I need to work on and be able to use my hands more and flip my hips and that kind of thing.”
Ravens Director of College Scouting Joe Hortiz
Opening statement: “It was a long wait sitting through that whole fourth round waiting for these guys to get to us. First, starting out with Brent Urban, he was a guy that we really liked throughout the whole process, starting in the fall. The scouts went in there during two-a-days recognizing just the size of him. He is 6-6, 300 pounds, basically, put together – he’s chiseled. You see him out there, [east-regional scout] Andy Weidl went in there [to Virginia] and was talking about him early about how he looks. We had a group of us that went in there and watched him play. He suffered an ankle injury that caused him to miss some games, but he came back late in the year and really gutted through it. On film, you see a prototypical five-technique body type who is playing in a 4-3 scheme. But you loved his motor, his competitiveness and really how he played on the early film. We felt like we were getting a potential starter down the road as a five-technique. Going on to Lorenzo [Taliaferro], a guy who was very productive this year at Coastal [Carolina], he helped lead his team to the playoffs. He’s a very physical runner. He’s 6-foot-plus, 229 pounds at the Senior Bowl or the Combine. He had a great college year in terms of production, and he is a versatile player who can run the ball. They use him in a variety of ways. They’ll even flex him out, too, on occasion – motion him out. He’s got very good hands out of the backfield. He is a really outstanding pass protector. They run a lot off play-action fakes and set him right up to pick up a linebacker or defensive end. He is not afraid to step up. He’s square. He plays strong in that area. And then as a runner, he’s a good, hard, aggressive, downhill runner. So, he’s a guy who went to the Senior Bowl as a small school guy. He got there with a lot of Division I players, and he held his own and was productive throughout the entire week, and of course the game as well. So, [they are] two guys who we’re really excited to get.”
With Brent Urban, do you see him as a big special teams guy who can possibly block some kicks? “Certainly, you could use him as a rusher. I think when you take a D-lineman, their role on special teams – unless they’re a defensive end pass rusher – they’re going to be pretty limited to kick return and the wedge and punt rush. But I would say with Urban, I think what you’re looking at is a guy who is coming off an injury, and I think that’s probably why he fell on some teams’ boards. But he’s got the potential to develop into a starting five-technique.”
What did you think of Brent Urban as a pass rusher when he was healthy? “He is a guy that when you watch Ball State – I hate to use that [example] because [Virginia] plays in the ACC – but when you see the Ball State game – they’ve all got to go out there and play football – he really got after it. He showed the body quickness and the suddenness, and that was an early film. Later film, the ankle injury, you didn’t see as much up-field explosion. He does have that, and he’s a raw pass rusher. He has the physical traits in terms of the burst, the speed and the quickness. He is going to have to develop his hand playing and his pad level. But the potential is there to give you an inside pass rush presence.”
Is he healthy now, and will he be able to do stuff with you guys in the spring? “We anticipate him coming in probably in a modified role. We’ll see when he gets here. But in terms of our trainers’ reports and the Indy [Combine] medical and every check, it’s a positive thing. Whether he’ll be full-go the day he walks in the door, we’ll determine that.”
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