Bengals 2005 second-round draft pick Odell Thurman conducted a conference call with local Cincinnati media following his selection. The transcript follows:
LINEBACKER ODELL THURMAN
Q: Are you disappointed, happy, excited:
OT:
"I'm not disappointed at all. This is a great time. I floated around a little bit, but I landed. I feel I landed in a great place."
Q: How do you feel about having two of your Georgia teammates here?
OT:
"It's been a pleasure to play with David Pollack for three years, and now I get to play with him for as long as they want to have me. It's going to be great. I can honestly say that Cincinnati has the best defense in the NFL right now."
Q: Because of you and Pollack coming in?
OT:
"Two of the best defensive players in the draft, Cincinnati got them. Cincinnati got the biggest steal of the draft."
Q: You and Pollack will be playing next to each other:
OT:
"I don't know how they plan to play us on the field, but you definitely have two (good players) on the field."
Q: They are going to play him outside and you inside:
OT:
"It really doesn't matter. We can switch it up if they want to."
Q: How close are you with Pollack?
OT:
"It doesn't get any closer. Being the leaders for Georgia, we had to bond with each other to be able to communicate with the rest of the guys on the team. We're very tight."
Q: What kind of hitter are you?
OT:
"I'm a run stopper. Put them in front of me, and I'm going to win."
Q: What else do you bring to the table?
OT:
"It's a long list of things. We could go on for days."
Q: Your name was thrown out erroneously last week about a bar fight in Athens, Georgia. How did you handle that?
OT:
"People were trying to distort my name or whatever. It got cleared up pretty fast. Since it got cleared up pretty fast I'm not that worried about it. People found out the truth about the situation pretty fast so I wasn't worried about it."
Do you think it affected your draft status at all?
OT:
"I don't know. I'm right where I want to be."
Q: You were disciplined by the team a few years ago and obviously came back. How have you matured over the years?
OT:
"I came back and feel like I've been on the right trail ever since. Get back to the top. I'm in Cincinnati now. I'm trying to steal the spotlight from Chad Johnson."
Q: How do you know Chad Johnson?
OT:
"I just know him from television and being a fan of his. Chad's a great player and great players seem to find their way to other great players."
Q: What do you know about the Bengals?
OT:
"I know from looking at their roster that they are a young team. They brought in myself and Pollack, and like I said before, we are two of the better players in the draft. I know a lot about the Bengals because I'm on the Bengals."
Q: What do you think of head coach Marvin Lewis?
OT:
"He's great. I'm just happy to be in Cincinnati and surrounded by good people."
Q: What were you thinking there at the end of the first round? A lot of people thought you might be picked at the end of the first round.
OT:
"It got kind of tight at the end, knowing I had a few teams interested in me. I floated out there a little longer than I thought, but I'm right where I want to be."
Q: What do you know about Cincinnati, Ohio?
OT:
"I don't know much about the city."
Q: What can the fans look forward to seeing you on the field?
OT:
"Look for a very exciting player on the field. Like I said before, I'm going to steal the spotlight."
Q: Is there any one you compare yourself to?
OT:
"I think I'm different from all the other players you've seen. I've got my own style."
