JON SCHNEIDER: Welcome. On behalf of Jody Allen and the whole building here and all the 12s all around the world, Pete and I want to congratulate Jaxon and Devon and welcome these two guys and their families to Seattle. Congratulations, guys.
PETE CARROLL: We're thrilled to get to this moment right here. It's your guys' moment, so let's have some fun with it and see what they got for us.
Q. You seemed so excited yesterday when you saw Jaxon selected. How does it feel to have two Big Ten guys get to spend this time together out in Seattle and how did that conference prepare -- both you guys can speak to this -- how did that conference prepare you for this opportunity?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: It feels good that two guys coming from the same conference, just the Big Ten, they prepare you for a lot of hard weather games. The cold. You just get really experience it all in that conference. So it feels really good knowing I got somebody who played in the same conference as me and he knows what it takes to win.
Q. You prepare to get drafted, the moment you walk into the Seahawk headquarters, what was that moment like for you?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: It was dope. I was able to take a visit here, so I already knew what it was. But, yeah, it's just kind of undescribable, for real. It's just a great city. So I'm glad to be here.
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: Yeah, first time being in the city here with the fam. Beautiful facility, beautiful weather, got the lake out there. So excited me and my family got to come out here.
Q. Jaxon, you mentioned being able to learn from guys like DK and from Tyler. Have you watched enough of them to know what things you would like to learn from them?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: Oh, no, not enough, not enough at all. I'm excited to get in that room and learn and watch those guys. I know a little bit, for sure, what they do on the field and what they're about on the field, but excited to be in the present with them and get to work with them.
Q. Is there a wide receiver that you watched a lot of growing up that you were trying to emulate in any way?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: No, ma'am. I watched a lot of ball. I'm a student of the game and I love all, a lot of receivers. So I wouldn't say one particular person.
Q. The success that Garrett and Chris had coming into the league last year, does that give you like an increased level of confidence that you can hit the ground running too and have a big first year?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: Most definitely. It gives me confidence, but at the end of the day you got to prove it and I'm excited to get to work and try to do that.
Q. Pete talked yesterday about how impressed he was with the time he spent with you. What do you remember about the conversations you guys had?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: Just the way he was able to just talk ball with me. We went over a couple press technique things, just the way he broke it down to me, it's a lot of little things that add up to the big things. So just the way he broke it down to me and the way I was able to learn it was just I kind of picked up on it kind of quick.
PETE CARROLL: So you're saying you were really impressed with the meeting, huh? (Laughing.)
Q. Is it pretty cool to have a head coach who is a DB guy?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: Definitely. So I know I'm going to get coached very hard.
Q. How did you go from someone who didn't start playing football until junior year until a top-5 pick?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: Hard work, dedication and sacrifice.
Q. What was that decision? You were going to be a basketball point guard, was that your plan?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: I had hoop dreams. I still wanted to be on that court (laughing.) But my mom convinced me to come out. So ever since that I day I just never looked back.
Q. She convinced you? She said you should go play football or what was the?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: She wanted me to go play football again. She just wanted one more year.
PETE CARROLL: Good for mom. Nice call. (Laughing.)
DEVON WITHERSPOON: So without her I wouldn't be here.
Q. And then you were already enrolled in the junior college and how did that happen?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: Yeah, I was in summer classes, but I ended up passing my SAT scores, so I was eligible to go to a four-year school.
Q. And it was assistant coach from the panhandle? Is that how you got to Illinois?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: Well, really it was my coach from high school, Coach Vandervort. He really helped me set everything up to be able to talk to the college coaches. So without him I kind of wouldn't be here.
Q. I'm sure you've been asked about your weight and size all your life. But how much did you weigh entering Illinois?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: Like 159.
Q. How much is that a chip on your shoulder the size and everyone saying your weight and this and that?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: I mean, I never really cared for it. At the end of the day we got to go out there and play football. So no matter the biggest, the smallest, we all got to go do the same thing.
Q. At what point though did you realize you approached this game a little different maybe than other cornerbacks, regardless of size, just your decision making and aggressiveness?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: I mean, I don't know, I never really kind of like just noticed that, but I just try to go out there and play football. Just play the game the way I like to play it.
Q. You wore No. 31 in college. Was there a reason for No. 31?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: No. (Laughing.) It was just that was the first number that they gave me. So my coaches always tell me like in the league they don't call you by your name, they call you by your number. So 31, I kept hearing it over and over and over again, so I just went with it.
Q. Was there a comparison between you and Kam Chancellor or any thoughts of about that at all?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: No, I don't know about that at all.
Q. This franchise making the playoffs last year, appears poised to make another one this year. What does it mean to be a part of that next step with this franchise?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: It's cool, it's cool. It's exciting. They had a great season last year so hopefully we can come in and push this thing forward a little bit more. So excited for the opportunity.
DEVON WITHERSPOON: It's good. Knowing that they have a winning culture here, just come in and try to impact the team the best way we can. They know what it takes. The tradition here is just great. So trying to come over here and just build on that to take it even further.
Q. Coach talked about your basketball background a little bit yesterday. How did that help you ease your transition into football being that you got started later than a lot of players did?
DEVON WITHERSPOON: Basketball is just the competitiveness, for real. That and just being able to move lateral, lateral quickness on the court, that just kind of translates over into corner, because you try to have that lateral quickness at corner. So it kind of fit into it pretty easy.
Q. Pete and Jon talked yesterday about your pro day workout not being important to just see you. Given the injury in the season how important in your head was it to be able to put on a show there?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: Always important. I mean, I was looking forward to that day for a long time. So I was happy I was healthy and got to go out there and showcase my skill set. It was a good day. Always love being back at O-State and throwing the ball around with my boys. So glad it was a good day. Glad I looked good. Appreciate it.
Q. Did you talk with Tyreek Smith at all last night about this place and him being a draftee here last year to get a feel of what you're coming into?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: Yeah, I haven't had a full depth conversation, but I love Tyreek Smith, man. He brought me in when I was a young-un at Ohio State and I loved him ever since. He texted me congrats, but I'm sure we'll catch up here pretty soon.
Q. How tough was last year just kind of having to go through all that not being able to play?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: Yeah, toughest thing I had to go through as an athlete. But I leaned on my family. My family was here for me. Learned a lot about myself and my love for the game. So I'm appreciative, I appreciate that moment because it's only up from here.
Q. Have you talked with Geno yet and what do you think of the season he had last year as far as catching passes for him?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: I talked to Geno a little bit. I'm sure I'll catch up with him later too. But excited to work with him. Great arm talent. Great skill set. Ready to get in the room and pick his brain, for sure.
Q. When it comes to the path that both of these guys took, Jaxon talking about last year the adversity being something he appreciated, and then you got Devon who didn't start playing football. How much does that play into the evaluation and what you are getting as a person as well as a player?
PETE CARROLL: Well I think there's nothing like having that chip that you got something to prove to bring out the best. Both of these guys have the makeup of the real competitive mentality and you know how much we love that around here. That's kind of what I was fired up about both these guys. I talked to them a little bit about it last night, about Devon, that you can sense that there's a special connection that they got something to prove. Our best guys we've always had here, whether they were draft picks or free agents or wherever they came from, there was a makeup to them that separated them from others. Everybody's competitive at this level, but some guys just feel it a little differently than others. I think both these young men are going to show you what it means to them and then how important it is for them to find their way to make their spot here and make the position that they fill and the role that they get to play really obvious. I'm really fired up about it. Because you all know how I always talk about it and these guys are really the real deal. So it's a huge part of their makeup and their value and all of that and it's going to be part of their success story too.
Q. You get a short time with them in pre-draft visits, what are the tells that you know a guy might have a competitive edge?
PETE CARROLL: Have you watched his highlight film? (Laughing.) That's where it starts. You get to see the play. Then he would note to you, I'm asking questions about why he did what he did on the plays that stood out. Where was his vision and his insights into those moments and stuff because I'm trying to figure out where it's coming from. Talking about Devon in particular right now, he had a real clear path to understanding of why he's taking the shots that he takes and why he's willing to go beyond where other players will go and that have separated him in this draft as a player and performer and a big-play guy.
I'm always looking for that. So when it just hit right, he answered the questions just right and aced the test and it was obvious to me that we had a guy that was really special and we were just hoping we would be able to reconnect. So very, feel very fortunate that it worked out.
Q. Would you give us a rundown on who you have here?
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: My mother, her boyfriend, my dad.
DEVON WITHERSPOON: I have my mom and she's right there. My niece, my brother, my sister and my other niece is here as well.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports