MJZiggy
05-02-2006, 10:39 PM
Draft Journal
DARYN COLLEDGE
OT
Boise State
Glad To Be A Packer
05/02/06
I’ve been feeling a lot of excitement and relief now that I know I’ve got a home and team in Green Bay. The night before the draft I went to bed late and got up really early the next morning because of all the anticipation. My wife and I actually got up to play some golf that morning. We teed off at 7am and played a good round of golf which took care of about half of the first round. We really weren’t expecting to go until around the second round anyway so the first round that I saw, I didn’t stress too much. It was actually just fun to watch all the guys that I’ve trained and played with go in the first round. The stress really picked up though in the second round because I knew of a couple teams really interested in me there. It got very interesting when all those trades started happening as well because I wasn’t quite sure what was going on.
But Green Bay actually called me about six minutes before I went off the board. When we talked they were fairly nonchalant about it, telling me they were thinking about taking me with the 47th pick and asking me about what I thought about that. Obviously I was extremely excited and told them I would love to be a Packer. Towards the end of the call they told me my name would be coming across the board and it did with a little time left on the clock.
Once I saw my name scan across the TV, everyone I was with started celebrating. I didn’t even get to see my highlights or hear anyone make any comments about me because I was immediately on the phone speaking with all the coaches and did a press conference over the phone. But it was great and exactly what I wanted. I want those guys to want me to be there and let them know how excited I am to be going to work as a Packer. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be so I’m excited to get out there.
It’s actually kind of ironic that I’m going to a cold-weather place to play football, although Green Bay’s a metropolis compared to where I grew up in North Pole, Alaska. I really can’t be more excited for the situation that I’m in. For a rookie offensive lineman, going to Green Bay to block for Brett Favre and play in Lambeau Field is the stuff you dream about as a kid and act out in the backyard. My wife and I can’t wait to go there and get a home and dig into the community there. I really don’t know if it’s sunk in entirely yet. When I get there and meet everybody and they hand me my helmet and jersey, I think that’s when it will set in that hey, I’m a Packer.
This is also a good fit for me because I know what type of offense I’m getting into. I know that they brought in the offensive line coach from Atlanta and he’s now the offensive coordinator. I also know that they ran the heck out of the football when he was in Atlanta so I expect them to want to do the same in Green Bay. One of the topics we discussed when they called me up, was that they said they planned to implement a zone scheme running game which is actually very similar to what I played in at Boise State so I think they expect me to pick that up fairly quickly. The terminology will be different but they expect me to hit it going downhill and running. I’m excited for the opportunity and this should give me a better chance of getting on the field as a rookie and making an impact. I think right now they believe I can make the quickest impact at guard. But I’m going to go in there fighting for any job and hopefully help the team out in any that I can.
DARYN COLLEDGE
OT
Boise State
Glad To Be A Packer
05/02/06
I’ve been feeling a lot of excitement and relief now that I know I’ve got a home and team in Green Bay. The night before the draft I went to bed late and got up really early the next morning because of all the anticipation. My wife and I actually got up to play some golf that morning. We teed off at 7am and played a good round of golf which took care of about half of the first round. We really weren’t expecting to go until around the second round anyway so the first round that I saw, I didn’t stress too much. It was actually just fun to watch all the guys that I’ve trained and played with go in the first round. The stress really picked up though in the second round because I knew of a couple teams really interested in me there. It got very interesting when all those trades started happening as well because I wasn’t quite sure what was going on.
But Green Bay actually called me about six minutes before I went off the board. When we talked they were fairly nonchalant about it, telling me they were thinking about taking me with the 47th pick and asking me about what I thought about that. Obviously I was extremely excited and told them I would love to be a Packer. Towards the end of the call they told me my name would be coming across the board and it did with a little time left on the clock.
Once I saw my name scan across the TV, everyone I was with started celebrating. I didn’t even get to see my highlights or hear anyone make any comments about me because I was immediately on the phone speaking with all the coaches and did a press conference over the phone. But it was great and exactly what I wanted. I want those guys to want me to be there and let them know how excited I am to be going to work as a Packer. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be so I’m excited to get out there.
It’s actually kind of ironic that I’m going to a cold-weather place to play football, although Green Bay’s a metropolis compared to where I grew up in North Pole, Alaska. I really can’t be more excited for the situation that I’m in. For a rookie offensive lineman, going to Green Bay to block for Brett Favre and play in Lambeau Field is the stuff you dream about as a kid and act out in the backyard. My wife and I can’t wait to go there and get a home and dig into the community there. I really don’t know if it’s sunk in entirely yet. When I get there and meet everybody and they hand me my helmet and jersey, I think that’s when it will set in that hey, I’m a Packer.
This is also a good fit for me because I know what type of offense I’m getting into. I know that they brought in the offensive line coach from Atlanta and he’s now the offensive coordinator. I also know that they ran the heck out of the football when he was in Atlanta so I expect them to want to do the same in Green Bay. One of the topics we discussed when they called me up, was that they said they planned to implement a zone scheme running game which is actually very similar to what I played in at Boise State so I think they expect me to pick that up fairly quickly. The terminology will be different but they expect me to hit it going downhill and running. I’m excited for the opportunity and this should give me a better chance of getting on the field as a rookie and making an impact. I think right now they believe I can make the quickest impact at guard. But I’m going to go in there fighting for any job and hopefully help the team out in any that I can.