Transcript Pressers Carter and Dart

[MightyGiants]

CARTER

Q. I know you said yesterday you kind of had a feeling that it was going to be New York but you just weren't sure. What was the feeling when you got the call and now the fact that you're going to be a Giant?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, it's definitely surreal. I'm pretty much at a loss for words. I'm just really excited, really blessed. I'm just ready to celebrate this moment with my family. It's just really dope.

Q. Why were you so convinced it would be New York when you were talking yesterday?

ABDUL CARTER: I really like to trust my gut, and that's what my gut told me. That's what my family was thinking. Then just meeting with New York, talking with them, it just felt right.

Q. What do you think of playing with (outside linebacker) Brian Burns and (outside linebacker) Kayvon Thibodeaux and (defensive lineman) Dexter Lawrence and that being the defensive line you've got here?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, we're going to be dominant. It's going to be dope just getting to know those guys as a person, getting to know them as men and then getting closer as teammates, and then once we get on the field together, just wreak havoc.

Q. When you were here for your meeting and you posted something, a picture of (former Giants linebacker) Lawrence Taylor, what is your sense of the Giants and their tradition of defense and things like that?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, LT the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time), somebody I look up to, somebody I study and one of the greatest players of all time, just want to follow in his footsteps, just bring dominance back to New York.

Q. Coach Daboll said he had met with you for breakfast at Penn State. What was that breakfast like and getting to know him in that way?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, that's what it was. It was getting to know each other as people. Obviously, he knows what I can do on the field. I know who he is as a coach. But that was more just getting to know me as a person.


Ezoic
Q. Where are you at health-wise with your foot mostly?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, I'm all good. I'm ready to get to work. I'm ready to go.

Q. Do you know any of the other guys, like the defensive linemen that I named before, Dexter Lawrence or Brian Burns or Kayvon Thibodeaux?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, I definitely know of them for sure, never got to meet them in person, but obviously I'm going to have the opportunity to, and once I get to know those guys, it's going to be all dope.

Q. You also know (tight end) Theo Johnson on the Giants. He said you're somebody that brings a lot of juice. What do you say to that?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, I can say the same for him. We used to go at it at practice all the time and in the games. Us two going at it, we both dominated in the game. He's in New York now, I'm going to meet him there. We're going to be going at it in practice. It's going to be all love. It's going to be dope.

Q. What do you bring to the NFL? What do you bring to the Giants? What kind of player do you think you're going to be at that next level?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, I'm just trying to be a dominant player. Just got to put the work in, trust my coaching, trust my teammates, make sure my teammates trust me, and then there is no limit on who I can be.

Q. You asked the Penn State staff to give you an opportunity to play more defensive end this year. How much more room do you think there is to reach your ceiling as a player? How much more do you have left in your game after what you showed this year in just one year?


Ezoic
ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, I'm just getting started. That was my first year of playing D-end, so obviously I got a ton more to learn. But even as dominant as I was, I still can grow. I still can get better in so many ways, I couldn't even name them.

Q. Abdul, obviously Lawrence Taylor played a long time before you were around. I'm just curious how you watched him. Did you watch him on YouTube or where did you pick up his clips?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, obviously got to watch YouTube clips. It's hard to find full games, which is the real stuff. But just watching him, seeing his intensity, seeing the way he thinks, just how dominant he was, how unstoppable he was, that's what I aspire to be.

Q. How familiar are you with Kayvon and Brian's game? Have you watched Giants' film in the past yet or watched them last year?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, I'm pretty familiar. They're both great players, dominant players. Can't wait to get in there and work with those guys, compete with those guys. It's going to be fun.

Q. What stands out to you about their games?

ABDUL CARTER: It's just them, Dexter in the middle, them all working together, and just adding me to that group, it's going to be dope. It's going to be the most dominant group.

Q. Do you have an idea yet how the team is going to get you, Kayvon and Brian all on the field together, or is it too early for that?

ABDUL CARTER: No, obviously we'll get into that after we begin, but I'm sure the coaches are going to find a way to get us all in at the same time so we can wreak havoc.

Q. You said it's surreal, this feeling of getting drafted. What's this like for you to go No. 3 and just have this moment?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, it's really just a blessing. It's an opportunity. I just want to take full advantage of it, celebrate this moment with my family. They helped me get here. I wouldn't be here without them, all the sacrifices they've made. I'm at a loss for words, just really blessed, and I'm just thankful.

Q. Coach Daboll said that he liked your position flexibility. Do you like the idea of potentially not only playing defensive end but maybe doing a little bit of playing off ball?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, absolutely. Wherever my coaches need me, that's where I'm going to line up at.



Q. You had said back in the combine that you and your dad had gone to the Super Bowl to cheer the Eagles one more time because you figured you were going to end up somewhere else, and that was going to become your team. At that point did you have any idea that it would just be an hour and a half drive up the turnpike up here to Jersey?

ABDUL CARTER: No, I had no idea, but I'm all New York now. Philly is in the past.

Q. What do you think about the idea of playing in New York and the big city and kind of all that comes with that?

ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, it's dope. My parents are an hour and a half away. They can come and see me anytime they want. It's just really dope being in New York, being in the biggest city in the world. It's really a dream.

Q. What did you have for breakfast when you went with Daboll?

ABDUL CARTER: I think I had some French toast, some eggs, a steak (laughter). I think that's pretty much it.


DART

Q. What did he (Head Coach Brian Daboll) tell you?

JAXSON DART: He just said how was the first media.

Q. How often was he keeping in touch with you throughout the process? I know he was texting you often I heard.


Ezoic
JAXSON DART: Yeah, so coach would text me a lot, and man, I would say like two weeks ago he kind of died off, so I didn't know what to expect. But no, I felt like – I don't know, I just had a good feeling about this. I just felt like this was going to work.

Q. Did you hit it off with him right away?

JAXSON DART: Yeah. Coach Dabes (Head Coach Brian Daboll), it was a super easy connection I felt like, from just a personality standpoint. I felt like his competitive edge just really fits kind of how I approach everything.

I felt like it started off easy and then we continued to grow from there. Obviously over this much time, we've just grown a stronger connection.

This is a coach that I want to be coached by no doubt.

Q. I guess he had a lot to do with (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen's success. Did you see that from afar and does that encourage you more?


Ezoic
JAXSON DART: Oh, 100 percent, 100 percent. Obviously going into this process and then at the same time watching Josh's success from afar, I got to see that just as a football fan. I think that anytime you see success like that and just as a competitor, as a quarterback, you really appreciate that from a coach. You definitely want to be coached by somebody just like that.

Q. What was this evening like for you, waiting and waiting and waiting and not knowing?

JAXSON DART: Yeah, I was just trying to keep my mind occupied. I was able to have a lot of family in town and friends, so I was really just walking around saying hi to everybody, just telling them how thankful I was that they were able to come and support, which was a huge reason why I decided to do it in Utah, because I felt like this was bigger than me.

I was just grateful for the people that I was surrounded by during this time, and I couldn't ask for better people in my corner.

But yeah, at times the night went a little slower than I kind of thought. But couldn't be more happy to be in this position that I'm in.

Q. At the combine we talked a little bit about what it would be like to sit behind a veteran. That could be the situation here, obviously. I don't know what they've told you about that. How prepared are you for that? That's something new for you, right?

JAXSON DART: Yeah, it's definitely new, but for me, this is just where my journey starts. I'm stepping into an amazing room with a Super Bowl winning quarterback who can see it from a different lens at such an elite level. I can't wait to go learn from him, go learn from all the other guys in (quarterback) Tommy (DeVito) and (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) in the room and then just the team as a whole. I feel like it's just a bunch of great competitors who really see it the same way, and I can't wait to go out there and compete and do all that I can to make the team better.

Q. Jaxson, I don't know how much you've studied the Giants' offense, but what do you know of it and what do you like about it?

JAXSON DART: I just love how versatile it is. It's a well-balanced offense who can attack every blade of grass, every level, and Coach Daboll does an amazing job of putting his players in the best situation to succeed, and I think that's all you can ask for from a quarterback and from an offense as a whole.

At the same time, we have some young pieces who I think that we can continue to grow off of and then some vets who have done it at the highest levels and won some of the biggest games.

I can't wait to be a part of that and really just learn and absorb as much as I can.

Q. At the Senior Bowl you told us that you're obviously very close to the Manning family. How does it feel now that you're going to be following in Eli's footsteps here in New York?

JAXSON DART: It's wild. It's wild to think about. They were just such an amazing asset for me when I was at Ole Miss. Obviously going down to the Manning Passing Academy and spending more time with them there, and then Archie just being consistent with texting me, and he made sure to give me a good luck today, and then Eli, I couldn't ask for a better resource than that. In my eyes he's going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer here shortly. I'm going to continue to lean on them a little bit, and I couldn't be more blessed to have them in my corner.

Q. Did they reach out to you tonight, and what was their message to you?

JAXSON DART: Well, I saw that they reached out before and they were just wishing me good luck. Quite honestly I haven't really been able to check my phone that much. I've just been celebrating with my family.

Q. You obviously had Trey as your top target and he happened to be teammates in high school with who I imagine is eventually going to be your top target here. Have you gotten a scouting report on (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) yet?

JAXSON DART: Yeah, (Ole Miss wide receiver) Tre (Harris) raved about having (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers). Tre was, like you said, his quarterback in high school, and he raved about that through all of our years at Ole Miss together. It's also been cool because having Tre as one of my best friends, he's brought me close to Malik, as well.

I remember talking to him when I was on my visit and continued to keep him in the loop of things. Yeah, he's going to be here shortly the best receiver in the NFL. Grateful to have him and be able to play with him.

Q. What was it like to get that call and to learn you were going to be a Giant?

JAXSON DART: I mean, it was unreal. It was emotional for sure. You can anticipate, you can expect and try to make predictions about how you're going to feel in that moment, but there's nothing that you can do to really prepare yourself for that phone call.

I was overcome with emotion a little bit, but I was just super excited. Like I've said to a lot of people, this is the place that I wanted to be. Just really grateful for this.

Q. The Giants made their pick at 3 and then obviously weren't going to pick again until tomorrow night. Did you have any sense or indication that this could happen, that they could trade back up to get you like this?

JAXSON DART: I think you can see things play out and you can have a little bit of expectations, but at the end you never know what's going to happen. I was just kind of trying to live in the moment. I was able to see my boy (former Ole Miss defensive tackle) Walter Nolen get picked and I was so excited for him, and yeah, I was just trying to enjoy the time with my family because this only happens once. I was just trying to stay in the moment right here.

Q. How do you embrace the expectation as the new, the next franchise quarterback of the Giants in a market like New York?

JAXSON DART: Yeah, as a competitor, you want to play on the biggest stages. You want to play in front of the most passionate fans, most world renowned program and organization. That's just kind of what I wanted to be a part of.

I felt like my process of getting to this moment, I just feel like I'm built for it. I'm really excited to go after it with everything that I've got.

Q. Does your personality fit in this city do you think?

JAXSON DART: No doubt. (Laughter.)

Q. Why is that? Why do you think that?

JAXSON DART: I don't know, I just feel like I got an edge to me. I feel like everybody in the city does, as well. So let's get to it.

Q. You had mentioned that Daboll was peppering you with texts for a while and then it kind of went quiet, and I don't know if you saw the reports that they were going to work out other quarterbacks. I'm curious if you were aware of that, and did you start doubting at all where you thought you stood, and how did that process play out for you?

JAXSON DART: It's almost kind of like the early stages of dating, I would say. You go on dates with different people and that's what Coach Daboll was doing, and I felt confident in the relationship that we had, so yeah, I saw all of it. But at the same time I just felt confident in the preparation that I had for my meetings with them, how I did at the combine, how I did – really just my tape throughout my career, and then all the meetings that we had. I felt like I gave it all that I got.

I just felt like that spoke for itself, as well as our relationship.