Senior Bowl is a great chance to meet and talk to dozens of players invited for the week in Mobile. Perhaps ones that’ll become future Pittsburgh Steelers. While we’ve profiled some players already, for some of the shorter interviews, I wanted to provide a transcript of those interviews.
During Tuesday’s media day during Senior Bowl week, I talked to Pitt cornerback Dane Jackson. Here’s our conversation. We hope to have a scouting report on him prior to the draft.
Question: You were a light recruit out of high school but still received an offer from Pitt. How did Pitt come on your radar?
Answer: Pitt was my biggest offer. I had smaller MAC schools but Pitt being my biggest offer I wanted to play at the highest level.
Question: You played basketball in high school too. Did you have any opportunities to play in college and if so, what made you choose football?
Answer: I never had any basketball offers coming out of high school. So it was strictly football.
Question: Take me through your Pitt career. How do you view your time there and did you play strictly on the outside or work in the slot too?
Answer: I never played nickel. I was primarily on the outside, primarily on the boundary. Just had a good career on the outside.
Question: Have NFL teams viewed you as an inside or outside guy?
Answer: Teams talking to me, interviewing with teams, saying I would be a good nickel fit so I’m going to try to get out there today and show them.
Question: What kind of feedback have you received from scouts?
Answer: Just looking for me to be myself. Do what I did all season. Not let up from what I showed on tape.
Question: Is there a chip on your shoulder being an overlooked guy in the recruiting process?
Alex: For sure. I’m sure there’s maybe situations where coaches think I can’t play at the highest level. And that’s what I’m here to prove.
Question: One of your strengths is your patience in man coverage. Take me through your pre-snap reads and keys. What are you looking for?
Answer: I’m keying the hips. A lot of receivers like to do a lot of dancing at the line but the hips don’t lie. Just follow those hips and it’ll take you where you need to go.
Questions: Have you met with the Steelers yet?
Answer: I just met with a scout. He just had me fill out a questionnaire.
Question: Are you a Steelers’ fan?
Answer: Yeah. My granddad was a huge Steelers’ fan. So he kinda brought it to the house.
Question: What would it mean to stay local and get drafted by Pittsburgh?
Answer: It would mean a lot for me. Being from Pittsburgh, going to Pitt, sharing the facility, right next door. It would mean a lot for me being around those guys.
Question: What’s it like sharing the same facility with the Steelers? How often do you see those guys?
Answer: During the season, by the time we’re done practicing they’re coming out so us walking off the field we get to see those guys a lot.
