Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud
Monday in Mobile, many of the NFL's top draft prospects will start a week of practices for the Senior Bowl, which takes place next Saturday. The week is crucial for draft hopefuls as they practice and compete in front of NFL scouts, coaches and administrators. DeCoud participated in the 2008 Senior Bowl as a safety out of California and shared his experiences.
Q: How did you deal with practicing in front of so many coaches and scouts who are evaluating everything you do?
A: It's in the back of your head, but for me personally, I tried to push it as far to the back of my head as I could just to focus on the task at hand. You're there to be evaluated, so they can see how you play the game of football.
Q: What were your goals for the week?
A: Some of my question marks were my coverage ability and just durability, being a smaller, skinnier safety. I definitely wanted to come out and show that I could cover and come up and hit and be a physical player and be a factor in the physical part of the game and just not the finesse part of the game.
Q: You were coached at the Senior Bowl by Lane Kiffin, then the coach of the Raiders. What were your impressions of him?
A: He seemed like a more mellow kind of coach. He didn't seem like he'd try to yell at guys or get after guys too hard. He seemed like he knew what he wanted to get done. He knew his system and knew how he wanted to teach it. He definitely was a good coach.
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