JOHN SCHNEIDER: Well, welcome, everyone. Awesome day, exciting day here at the VMAC. Byron Murphy day. It's an exciting deal, first-round draft choice. Everybody in the room for the last several months has been very excited about this day, the opportunity the other night to be able to select Byron with the 16th pick. It was quite stressful, I've got to tell you.
But I can't tell you how excited everybody is to have you here. On behalf of Jody Allen, our family here in the building at the VMAC and all the 12s, we want to welcome you.
MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, we're just really excited to have you. Like John said, it was an exciting night on Thursday. I told some folks it was kind of like a game of Plinko on Price is Right, just trying to have everything slot out to work our way, and when it became evident Byron was going to be our guy, it was just really exciting in the room.
I want to thank all the people in the process that put all the work into finding the right guy. We think Byron is the right person for our team, and just really excited to get this thing kicked off. Congratulations to you and your family, and this will be a long, fruitful, fun relationship. A lot of great things in store. Congratulations.
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, today I have with me in the corner right here, I've got my dad, Byron Murphy, Sr., got my mom, my queen, Seneca Murphy, and my beautiful girlfriend, future wife, Maya Heard, and also my agent Ron Slavin. Man, I'm just right now taking it all in. Just very exciting, man. Really just blessed to be here.
Growing up, Seattle has been my favorite team, so just to be a part of this team and this organization, it really means a lot. I'm going to give it everything I've got each and every day, 110 percent. I just want to say thanks to both of you guys for trusting in me, believing in me and picking me to be part of this team and everything. It really means a lot. It's a dream come true. Just blessed to be here.
Q. Byron, take us from Thursday, getting that phone call to now. What's the last few days been like for you?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, the last few days has been crazy. Even starting from Thursday, just getting that phone call, man, it was just so overwhelming just getting that call. Man, I can't really describe it. It was like a dream.
But man, when I got the call, I was just so excited and happy, and I was just really thankful to share that moment with my family and everything because that's something we never experienced. So just to have the experience that my family -- just to cherish those moments really means a lot.
Q. What was it like being a Seahawks fan in Texas?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, I know it sounds a little funny. I get the question a lot, how come you didn't like the Cowboys, but in my household everybody disliked the Cowboys for some reason. But man, being a Seahawks fan just growing up, first, I just fell in love with the Legion of Boom, the guys, just the way they played on defense, guys like Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Michael Bennett, all them guys, Richard Sherman, and just seeing how those guys play on defense, the way they just set the tone and go out there and just the way they play, that's something I wanted to be a part of, and also, too, growing up, I was a huge fan of Russell Wilson. I loved Russell Wilson as a kid, watching those guys go out there and just dominate their opponent and win a Super Bowl. It was crazy. That's one of my goals. I'm trying to win games and bring a Super Bowl here, as well.
Q. Why did you pick 91?
BYRON MURPHY II: I picked 91 because in high school I wore 10, so I was thinking like -- I had a few options, but I chose 91 because I was thinking nine plus one equals 10. Just wanted to have that feeling again like when I was in high school because high school is when I first started -- that's when I transitioned to D-tackle because I wasn't playing it at first, and when I first went down there, I was wearing 10, junior and senior year.
Q. What's it like walking in this building with your mom and your dad? This has been a dream of yours since you've been a kid, to kind of come in here and see this place. What's today been like for you?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, today has been amazing. It's a great feeling having my parents with me because they've been with me since day one, so having them here with me, it really means a lot. Again, it's a blessing. They pushed me each and every day to get here. They're the reason why I'm here right now. They're the reason I'm talking to you guys. They're the reason why all this happened. They kept my head on straight, taught me right from wrong. They did a great job taking care of me. I really appreciate them a lot.
Q. Given the fact you were a fan of this team, what was it like to walk in the building here and get to see this place for the first time?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, my first time walking in the building, I was just shocked really. Really shocked, just to see come to Seattle. This is my first time here. I've never been to Seattle, and it's really nice, really pretty at this, the water and everything. I see all the mountains, the sun is out, good little breeze. It's nothing like that Texas weather. In Texas it gets real hot. I'm just happy to be away from that.
But yeah, it was a great feeling, amazing feeling.
Q. You walk in the building, you get that good feeling, but putting that Seahawks stuff on, what was that like?
BYRON MURPHY II: When I put the stuff on, that's when I feel like, okay, I'm officially a Seahawk. I knew when I got drafted I was a Seahawk, but when I got here, put the gear on, I felt like I was part of the team right away. It feels like family right now. I'm just excited. I'm just happy.
Q. Byron, what is it about the high school you went to that prepares guys for DI ball and then the NFL?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, so DeSoto, our name is called, we're known as DeSoto U, University. Claude Mathis, his guys, they run that program like college, like a college program. They coach us very hard. They're on us very hard. They don't treat us like any regular high school kids. It's a standard at DeSoto, and in order to play or to be successful, you must reach them standards no matter what, no matter what the case might be.
Man, DeSoto taught me a lot. Taught me a lot just by how to get through adversity, the ups and downs that come with football. They taught me a lot. Coach Mathis, my D-line coach, Coach Miller, I give my hats off to those guys.
Q. Did you overlap at DeSoto with Laviska Shenault?
BYRON MURPHY II: No, Laviska was older than me. I wasn't in high school when he was there. But I remember him, though, a lot.
Q. What do you think the biggest challenges are for you personally moving to the next level and your expectations coming in here going forward?
BYRON MURPHY II: The biggest challenges, I know the game is going to be much faster. I feel like with these coaches, I feel like they're going to put me in the best position in order to be successful. And also, too, I feel like once the game slows down, I feel like I can be me. I can be the best player I can be.
Q. You were a linebacker before you moved to D-tackle. Linebacker is maybe a little bit more of a glamorous position than playing D-tackle. Were you reluctant at all? How was that explained was that may be your best path moving forward?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, so what happened, the reason why I made the move, it was like my 10th grade year, I was playing middle linebacker, and we had like a little play where I got to nose. So I ended up going to nose, I ended up making a TFL in the backfield, so the next day my coach came up to me, he said, have you ever thought about moving to D-tackle? I looked at him like he was crazy because I never seen myself being a defensive tackle. I'm telling him, I'm a skill guy, I not fitting to play in those trenches. I ain't ready for that.
But I ended up saying yeah. For some reason, I don't know why, I ended up saying yeah, then when I told my parents, my parents went off on me. They was mad and everything. But I was telling them, it's going to be okay. I'm going to do good at that position.
When I first started off, obviously had to learn a lot, but I started learning -- like I grasped it fast, quickly. As I was learning, I'm like, man, this stuff is really simple, and man, I got it down right away. It's been on ever since then.
Q. How much did you weigh at the time?
BYRON MURPHY II: At the time when I was a linebacker I was like 250.
Q. Mike, do you see any linebacker traits in his game?
MIKE MACDONALD: A 250 linebacker is pretty impressive. There's not many of those walking the earth. In high school.
Q. Do you see any linebacker traits in his game?
MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, absolutely just movement ability, working edges, things like that. Just has a natural feel for playing blocks, working soft part of the pass set. Yeah, you can see some linebacker ability in there.
Q. What is the area of your game that you think you need to improve on?
BYRON MURPHY II: I feel like I need to improve on pass rushing and finishing on the quarterback. Obviously I know I can pass rush very well, but I feel like that's something I need to get better at, and just my game period. I feel like there's always room for improvement in every area, every aspect of the game.
But yeah, pass rushing, also finishing on the quarterback. I had a lot of missed ops this year, just getting back there. Hit him with a great move but I'd get back there and I'd slip and fall reaching. Really just working on pass rushing, finishing on the quarterback.
Q. A lot of times first-round picks come in and they're expected to shoulder the load. How much of a blessing is it to come here with Leonard Williams and Dre'Mont Jones and Jarran Reed, and have you had any communication with those guys?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, it's a great feeling knowing I'm playing with some dogs on the side of me. Man, being able to play with these guys at a very young age, I know they're going to teach me a lot, show me a lot, and just teach me so many ways about the game, how to move on and off the field.
Jarran Reed texted me, Leonard Williams, both of them guys hit me up. They're just ready for me to come down here, which I'm here right now, and they're just ready to work. They're ready to work with me.
Q. You started playing when you were like six years old from what I understand. What do you remember about that?
BYRON MURPHY II: Man, I just remember really dominating. I just remember scoring three, four touchdowns a game. But it was crazy, seven years old, six, seven years old going against nine, ten-year olds, just being able to do that. I knew I was special right away, right then and there. Also, too, I knew when I first started playing, this is what I wanted to do.
Q. John, you talked last week about staying away from him on purpose to not tip your hand. Is that hard when you're evaluating a player and you're interested but you've got to stay back in the shadows and let the rest of the guys do the work?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: It wasn't really because we have a great -- we've always had a great relationship with his agent Ron, and then we had a lot of guys in the building that were fighting for air time with Byron like Matt Berry and Ryan and Trent Kirchner. They were all kind of arguing about whose guy he was and that sort of thing. Seems like six months ago, honestly.
No, but we just had such a -- it was a really cool process. I really think from honestly the middle of the season, no matter what happened, if we were able to sign Leonard back or whatever, he was always a guy that having Dre'Mont here, like you said, J-Reed, that whole group of guys -- the two young guys with Murph and Cam, it's a cool group, Myles in there. I hate to be forgetting anybody. But it's a fun group of guys, and it's a talented group. But he was always a guy throughout the season that we were always watching, like all right, well, did we put ourselves -- are we in a position where we'll be able to draft him or not. Not having a second-round draft pick really inhibited our ability to move up to take him. But yeah, so we basically just prayed on it and sweated it out the other night?
Q. Byron, you played running back previously. You just mentioned scoring three or four touchdowns a game. Did you move away from running back at the same time that you switched down to defensive line? And who would you compare your running style to? I'm assuming a 250-pound running back.
BYRON MURPHY II: Yeah, so I played running back all the way up to the ninth grade, so I stopped playing running back in ninth grade. But who I compared myself to when I was playing running back? Somebody like Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch. I was a very physical runner. I run through people or I give you a little shake and bake. I feel like I had it all at running back.
Q. Mike, how excited are you to get this process -- I know you have your team assembled for the most part and get these guys on the field this week and get going with OTAs the next couple weeks?
MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, it's been awesome to be out there actually doing football on the grass. Excited about our process. We're taking it slow, like slow, smooth, fast, but now we'll get the rookies as a part of the crew. We'll have the camp this week, and then I think they're here in two weeks for good.
But yeah, just to get out there and do it for real rather than all the theory on the board and stuff is always a nice breath of fresh air?
Q. Mike, does Ryan Grubb get any time with Byron?
MIKE MACDONALD: We'll see. Right now I don't think so.
Q. Byron, I know you just got here, but you were Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Do you have any goals that you have written down or in your head or in your back pocket that you're looking forward to this year?
BYRON MURPHY II: First, I want to win. That's my main goal. Secondly, hopefully I'll be able to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. That's one of my goals, too.
But the main goal right now what I'm focused on, I'm focused on coming in, playing my part, just playing my role, doing what they ask me to do, and win football games.
Q. Do you remember the first time it was brought to your attention that you're perceived as too short as a defensive tackle?
BYRON MURPHY II: Oh, yeah. I remember in high school as soon as I made the move, coaches and everything, even reporters saying I was too short. My arms are not as long to play D-line. But I looked at it as motivation. It never turned me down, it just built me up. It just made me work harder, just made me try to prove everybody wrong.
I feel like I did, and I feel like I'm still doing it.
Q. Did you hear that or did that come up in your pre-draft process, as well, the height and arm length?
BYRON MURPHY II: Yeah, it came up, but I ain't worrying about that. You know, I believe in heart over height, and also, too, that doesn't matter when you're on the field. That doesn't matter. It all goes out the window. It's either you're a dog or you're not.
Q. What was it like playing for Steve Sarkisian the last couple years?
BYRON MURPHY II: It was great playing for Sark. I got there when Sark got there, so I was in his program for three years. Sark, he taught us a lot, and he pushed us a lot, too. Coach, he's a really hard coach, very demanding. Man, Sark -- playing for him, he's a great coach. Just the way he was able to turn the program around with us and him, and I feel like he knows what he's doing. He knows how to put his players in the best position to be successful to get to this point right here and to win, too.
Q. Byron, I talked to Coach Kwiatkoski yesterday and he was talking about you playing the nose tackle position and he said that the mental aspect really jumped out with your ability to take on double teams, things of that nature. What do you think is more important there? Is it the physical tools, or is that a position where the mental game really plays -- has a big play into it?
BYRON MURPHY II: Well, the game to me is 90 percent mental, 10 percent physical. It's not all about size and everything really or strength. It's really all about technique, how you play. I believe in playing with technique. I feel like in order to be successful, you must have technique. Your technique must be right. Technique got to be great at all times no matter where you end up at.
I love the nose position. I feel like I can play the nose in this league from 0, 3, 2, whatever. Whatever they need me to play, I feel like I can do it. But yeah, I feel like it's not really about the physical part. It is but it is not, but it is more mental and about technique.
Q. How did you come up with "humble beast" for the tattoo on your arm?
BYRON MURPHY II: That was my thing. I've always been humble as a kid growing up. I never tried to look down on anybody or never tried to put myself above anybody. I believe you treat people how you want to be treated. So that's what made me get the humble part, just always being grateful for every blessing that I receive.
And the beast comes from just me being on the field. I feel like I've got a switch. When I flip that switch on, that's when the beast comes out, on the field.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports