Asked how much of an honor it was to be selected for the Senior Bowl, Colt said:
“For me it was a tremendous honor. I come from one of the smaller schools and this Bowl is supposed to be for the top seniors in the country. Just to be invited was a great honor. I had a great week down here. I loved meeting all of the great guys from all over the country. Everyone says that this is it, it’s the next step to the next level. It was a great experience and I loved it.” (scout.com)
Asked about the controversy over his weight being measured at 185, Colt said:
“It was tough, but when I walked in to get weighed everyone was talking about my weight before I even got here. They said I was skinny and that I needed to get bigger. The fact that I weighed in light really wasn’t a surprise to me or anyone else. But now it was justified that I was kind of light. I felt heavier than that at the end of the week, and I’d guarantee right now that I’d be around 190 – 195. I was coming off of a stomach flu, which some of the players down here experienced, and it was bad timing for me. The good news is that this is the least important weigh in. The next two weigh-ins are the most important. If my weight is up by then, not only will it show my work ethic, but people will be happy.” (scout.com)
When it was mentioned that he had a slow start to his week in Mobile but got more comfortable as the week progressed, Colt was asked what was the cause for his slow start and said:
“I think everyone had their own progression down here. Everybody said that their worst day was probably going to be one of the first days. I had a great seven-on-seven the first day, but I kind of struggled in other stuff. On Tuesday, we did routes vs. air trying to get timing down. But as you progress and keep doing it and getting more experience, you get more confidence. Once I started having success, I built off of that. Also on Tuesday, we did seven-on-seven and other team stuff, and I had success. I was really excited about Wednesday. I felt really good after Wednesday and I knew on Thursday that I really wanted to put it all together, because it was our last day of practice. I felt that I went out and did a good job on Thursday and made things happen.” (scout.com)
Asked how much of an advantage it is to have pro coaches coach him and to be put into an NFL system during Senior Bowl week, Colt said:
“That’s huge, because if you don’t have the opportunity to play in this game, your first NFL mini camp is your first experience [around NFL coaches]. The Senior Bowl was sort of like a minicamp in a sense. We got a taste of what the NFL is like, and I think that’s going to help me be prepared when I hopefully get drafted and move onto the next level.” (scout.com)
Adked what it was like to be coached by 49ers OC Mike Martz and how his system utilizes his strengths, Colt said:
“I really enjoyed Coach Martz’s system. One thing I think that helps is that it’s a numbers system. If you know the route tree, you’ll have a good idea of what to do. We were only seeing Cover 1 and Cover 3 this week with no blitz, so it makes things simple. Coming from my offense, we would never see Cover 1 and Cover 3, because we’d kill it. Just knowing what I come from and how I’d prepare for those defenses, and being in a numbers system and knowing each route when I hear it in the huddle, I walk up to the line knowing where I want to go with the ball.” (scout.com)
Asked what was the biggest adjustment or challenge that faced him each pay in practice, Colt said:
“I think playing within the system. At Hawaii, I had so much confidence, and I’d do a lot of things on my own, and I would implement things Coach Jones taught me. Towards the end of the week in practice there were two plays where I got into my old habits, although it wasn’t detrimental, it wasn’t what the coach was teaching us. For instance, I was trying to throw a back shoulder route on a fade route, instead of just throwing it up. Then I tried to pump a flat and up in the endzone when I had a guy dragging across the middle wide open. As long as I stayed within the system and did what I’ve been taught, I was hoping to be consistent and efficient during the game.” (scout.com)
Asked about being around all of the great players during Senior Bowl week and what he learned about his game and what he needs to imrprove on, Colt said:
“The one thing that I learned is that I feel like I belong. Being out there making plays, doing good things, that is something I can definitely do. I had confidence throughout the week. I like the fact that they balanced the playing field for everyone, so that they can compare everyone on the same level. I really enjoyed that and blossomed during the week and felt I got better each day.” (scout.com)
Asked about his great chemistry with Florida WR Andre Caldwell all week in practice and it was about his game that made him comfortable, Colt said:
“He’s really smooth in his routes. You can anticipate where he’s going to be really well. It just so happened when I was watching film I realized that it seemed I was always throwing to Caldwell. Now, it has to do sometimes with the safeties dropping out of coverage, but whenever I looked his way we had great chemistry, and I knew where he liked the ball.” (scout.com)
Asked for his impression of the entire scene at the Senior Bowl, with pro scout watching every practice and dealilng with team representatives and media after practice, and signing autographs for every fan that approached him, Colt was asked how he was able to handle all of those demands and he said:
“It’s funny, because when you go to a school like Hawaii you kind of forget what all the other schools have to go through. I realized how much we had to overcome playing in Hawaii. The team meetings and the media requests weren’t that difficult to get through. In fact I’ve enjoyed it. In Hawaii, the structure wasn’t there. It felt like you had to over compensate for a lot of the resources that weren’t there for you. We did a lot of traveling, and it felt like we were always entering different time zones. But to come out here for a week like this and work through a slow progression where in the beginning it was hard and then it got easier at the end of the week, I think it was really nice and everyone got adjusted. For me it was awesome, and when I get to the NFL with all the resources every team has, it will be a lot easier for me to handle.”
Asked about the interview process at the Senior Bowl–how many teams he met with, what the discussions were like, and did anyone show more interest than another, Colt said:
“There were a lot of teams that I met with; I’d say I met with 15 – 20 teams over the three-day interview process. I walked away feeling very strong in some areas and not so strong in other interviews. There was really only one interview I walked away from wondering how it went. I kind of questioned it; I couldn’t get a feel for it. Every other interview I went in on, my agents and I got great feedback. They said I did a great job through the interview process and that I was well prepared. As long as I maintain that and do a good job when I get to the Combine, obviously it’s going to help me.” (scout.com)
Asked how much a factor the weather was in the game, Colt said:
“The weather could have been better, but when you play football you have to play in all kinds of weather. You have to be able to play through that stuff. I just had a lot of bad luck happen to me last night. I couldn’t really get anything going. Things like this happen sometimes — that’s football. But from everything that I’ve heard, they (scouts) don’t read into this game too much. It was a chance for me to improve my game and my draft stock, but unfortunately I wish I could have done more during the game.”
Asked about the INT he threw on his opening drive, throwing to a double-covered TE, Colt was asked what he saw on the play that made him decide to challenge the D and he replied:
“I was trying to squeeze the ball in between two defenders and the linebacker broke on the ball. The ball kind of ricocheted and it ended up in his hands. Luckily, I wasn’t the only quarterback who turned over the ball last night. I think there were eight turnovers in the game and a couple of quarterbacks threw some interceptions. In an all-star game like this you have to make the best of what you’re given, and I wish I could have done a little bit more. I don’t think this game will be too detrimental to me. I think it will be detrimental to me in how media people look at it, but I think when the coaches and scouts and people who know football look at it, they will think this week helped me and not hurt me.” (scout.com)
Asked about his 3rd drive in the first quarter, where he led the team past midfield but then Tulane RB Matt Forte fumbled, Colt said:
“I finally got something going on that drive, but unfortunately the running back fumbled the ball after a nice run. That’s the all-star game. There’s a lot of that’s stuff going on. I feel like I was the guy who had the most to prove, because of where I came from and the system I played in, so everyone was looking at me and wanted to see what I could do out there. I’m not saying things went bad, but not everything went well for me.” (scout.com)
Asked how good it felt for his team to win the game, Colt said:
“That was cool. It was a great ending to a fun week. I thought our team had great chemistry and we got a long really well, and to see us win the game like that was a lot of fun.” (scout.com)
Asked how the Senior Bowl prepared him for the coming weeks as he prepares for the Combine, Colt said:
“The interview process definitely prepares you. It gives you a great look at what you’re going to go through at the Combine. I’ve gotten to know a lot of scouts and coaches and had the opportunity to speak with them. You also get a feel for what teams are looking for. This is a huge thing for guys, especially guys who are not considered to be top picks in the draft, guys who are trying to move their draft stock up. If you come in here and embrace the situation and do a lot of good things, it prepares you that much more for the Combine and hopefully elevates your draft status.” (scout.com)
Asked what he was doing now that the Senior Bowl was over, Colt said:
“I’m competing in the Quarterback Challenge this week at the Super Bowl. I’m going to try to hit some targets and maybe win a TV or something. After that, it’s right back to training. Hopefully I can get my weight up to about 200 before the Combine. I have four weeks of training to polish up on my footwork under center. I’m going to take what I learned this week and build on it and show up at the Combine and have a great workout. I’m going to just concentrate on the things I need to do to get people interested in me and get teams wanting to draft me.” (scout.com)
