2017 NFL Draft interview: Kansas State LB Elijah Lee
By Matt Conner
With the draft on the horizon, how are you feeling right now?
My emotions are up and down, just because you don’t know what to expect. There are days you’re confident because you know what you can do, but then again, you still don’t know, so you have those questions in your head. But at the end of the day, it’s in God’s hands, so whatever happens, happens.
A lot of players have told me that they feel this process is slow. Has it been that way for you?
It’s slow at first, but then after the pro day and going on visits and working out and stuff like that, I think it actually went by pretty fast. I think it’s because I’ve been busy throughout the weeks.
You were not invited to the NFL Combine. That seems a bit shocking to me, so I’m curious what your response was?
I was very frustrated. On visits or whenever I talk to teams, they all say I should have been there or they ask me what happened. I was frustrated because I know I could have competed with all of those guys there. But at the end of the day, that’s something I can add to my story and carry on with a chip on my shoulder.
Was it a hard decision to come out for the draft or was it easy?
It was very tough. There are things I wanted to do, but this was an opportunity to help my family out. I wanted to give it a shot and I got good feedback. Going through this whole process, I’m starting to get more confident. Teams are reminding me that I do have the ability to play at the next level.
Was it sad to close the chapter on your college career?
Yeah. Most of my friends redshirted, so all of my friends have at least a year or two more in college.
When you do look back at your career, what are you most proud of? Is it an award you earned like First Team All-Big 12 or is it a game performance?
It’s probably playing my freshman year. The media says they don’t expect this guy to do anything at first or they think you’ll redshirt. Usually in Coach Snyder’s system, most guys redshirt, so for me to play immediately and not redshirt, I think that set the tone and the mark that I was there about business.