Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass podcast. The NFL Draft has come to a close and the Ravens made six picks over the course of the weekend. On Saturday, they made four draft picks and we had a chance to hear from two of them, Tavious Robinson and Edge Rusher out of Ole, miss and Kyu Blue Kelly at cornerback out of Stanford after the pick. Here's the press conference that Robinson did with the local media here in Baltimore.
Tavous, congratulations. Just to start things off here, it take me through the emotions. Did you feel like this was a spot you could land and how did you react to the news?
Yeah, definitely. When I got the call and I saw it was Baltimore, you know, I was excited right away to be part of such a great program and just I'm excited to get there and start working and do everything I can to help win Super Bowls in Baltimore.
So yeah, it was a.
Great, great, great moment. I'm excited. That was such a great program for sure.
Ryan Mink.
Yeah, Tavious, can you walk me through your background a little bit. I know, coming from Canada, I read that you kind of aspired to go enter the CFL, and then the pandemic kind of changed your mind. Can you can you walk me through the story of how you ended up landing at Old Miss and pursuing an NFL career now?
Yeah, So I played two years at university football up here in Canada, and then when COVID happened, everything got shut down here football got canceled. And then at that point I was sending out my tape everywhere trying to get a school in the States, and then Ole Miss was one of my first as a c offers. So that's how I ended up at Old Miss and then had three years there and now I'm here.
So yeah, Luke Jones, Tyboas, Congratulations.
Who are some players you've tried to model your game after as you've prepared for this NFL career.
Max Crosby is someone who I watched a ton because he has a relentless motor. So that's one thing I watched him throughout the season. That's that's kind of what I try to model my game off is never giving up on places, playing with a relentless motor. And then on top of that, like he has great pass which moves is a great run defender. So but the motor part is one thing that I try to take from his game one hundred percent.
So Childs Walker, Yeah, I hate tav congratulations.
You know, we hear from everybody that you were you were really coming on sort of at the end of your college career.
I mean in your mind, where did you improve the most? And then where do you still think you have the most room to grow?
Yeah?
I think the most.
I just improved that the game like started to slow down for me, and the more I learned from my coaches, the better I got and the more confident I felt out there. I became a better power rusher this year, better stopping the run, and I just feel like I still have so much more room to grow. And you know, I'm a sponge. I like to be coached and I like to become as best as I can at this game. So I think there's a lot a lot of room to grow.
For sure.
We'll go to Cordill Woodland.
Hey, tav Is, congratulations A lot of forest fumbles for you.
When did it become an emphasis for you to start really going after the.
Football really from the start of the season, Like that's something that our DC D line coach preaches because turnovers can win games. You know, the turnover margining where you got to take like the ball wins game. So whenever you get a shot to take that ball out, it's what you got to do. So a sack isn't enough if you got to get the strip sack. So that's kind of my mentality with it.
So we'll go to Jeff's soreback, Pavious, where how much interaction did you have in the Ravens and the pre draft.
Process and and and what was kind of the extent of that.
Yeah, we had talked a little bit at the Combine and the Senior Bowl. I remember that, and so I knew that they were on my raidar. I didn't know one hundred percent of it was gonna end up. But you know, when I got that call from Baltimore again, I was ecstatic and just excited to come into such a great program.
So yeah, Johanna Schaeffer.
It Davious, congratulations.
Two questions for you.
I guess have you talked that much with the Ravens about what kind of role in the defense you would have? And then also just looking at your bio, I saw that you used to work at one night hundred got junk before you got the college offer, What was that experience like for you? And I guess have you thought it all about just how far you've come since you,
you know, made since you major break into college football. Yeah, so with that story right before, like when football had got canceled here in Canada, like because here in Canada, we don't get full scholarships, like you got to work to pay for your school for the upcoming year. So before I got in your offers, I had applied for that job, got that job, and was like just getting ready to start working to make enough money to go
to university the upcoming year. But at the same time, I was sending up my tape, but I didn't know if anything was gonna come from it. But then I got the old Miss offer and then yeah, I didn't even I think I was like scheduled to go and for work and then I got the old Miss offer like two days before, and then I like quit and then it was on a.
Plane to the Old Miss like the next day. So yeah, and your role in the defense if you know that, Yeah, we're gonna get into that pretty soon here. But yeah, I'm excited to be a part of Baltimore for sure.
We'll go to Dan Ralph who's joining us from Canada as well.
Tav's congratulations. I wanted to ask you two things. First of all, you are the fourth Canadian to go. You and I both know that ties the record for most. And what your thoughts are about the amount of Canadians that we're seeing going into the NFL draft in the last four or five years, and what that what that significance is for you.
Yeah, it's so significant to me because at the end of the day, there's so many great players up here who, in my mind, if they were in D one school, they would be in the same position, but they just it's hard to get that opportunity from Canada. So it's great to see and I think it will continue to open up more opportunities for Canadian kids, which they deserve because there's so.
Much talent up here.
And once that talent really gets tapped into, I mean, I think the numbers is just gonna rise and rise every year.
So it's great.
We talked, we talked to your uncle has a pro pedigree, but you're the first gelth player ever to be drafted into the National Football League.
Any significance to that in your mind. Definitely.
Again, like it's just it's it's to show all the kids back home, all the kids up here around in Canada, it's possible with hard work and dedication and just it's important.
It's important that the kids know that.
So I'm definitely grateful for the opportunity and happy that the kids can can look up.
To me, for sure.
Thank you, congratulations again, thank you Ryan Mink.
It's obous.
I'm just wondering how much did you play as a d M kind of handing the dirt guy at Old Miss and how comfortable do you feel on your feet on the edge.
Yeah, so my first year at Old Miss, well, my two years at Canada and my first year Old Miss, I was a stand up the end, and then the past few years I've been handed the dirt. So I'm comfortable, very comfortable with both. So yeah, it's it's good with both for sure.
Johannest Schaeffer, Jonas you good, all right, I'm good, okay. Kevin Richardson, Yes.
Hey, I want to ask you about you.
Seem like you're on every academic uh hon Roe there is in college.
What does that drive come from? How does that help you as an athlete.
Yeah, I think it's just kind of a pro mindset, Like everything you do you got to do at the highest level. So you know, to play football, you gotta have a good enough grades to be on the team. So it's just something that I do, and it's it's I just I've always like I've always been good as well. So I mean, it's just something that I do to make sure that I'm good to play football. So I just I take everything at the highest level basically.
So, and Ryan, did you have one more question? We're good, all right, Well.
Tavos, congratulations again. We all look forward to meeting you here in Baltimore in person, and thank you to everybody for joining us.
Thank you, thank you for having me.
You're listening to the Ravens Press Pass podcast. Now here's the conference All that Kyu Blue Kelly, a cornerback out of Stanford, did with the local Baltimore media soon after the pick was announced.
Hey, Kyu, congratulations on getting drafted. Just a kind of quick personal question, could you explain your your name? It's obviously an unusual when I couldn't find anything online on how you got it.
Yeah, funny story.
So by my dad.
Of course they had me.
They agreed on blue before I'm even I'm even out, like that was the main thing they wanted to do.
And we get all the way down, so I'm pretty sure the delivery.
Room I'm crying somewhere and the biblical cords gotta get cut. But my mom's like, I want a K I want a K name, and my Dad's like, you know, we've been this is a process the whole time we're switching up. So it made a compromise and pretty much wanted to find what flows with blue and when Kyu blue k Yu b l U is my first name.
Jamison Hensley, how you what do you think as far as having a father who played over a decade in the NFL, how much do you think that helped you as far as your football career.
I mean it helped me one hundred percent.
I was just telling him before this whole process even started that without him, I would even be as close to the man I am a close to the football player I am today. A lot of kids, you know, just be having a father in my life, let alone the NFL father. You know, that's such a big thing. That's such a blessing in this life. I can't even have the words to say, but it's such a big, such a big blessing I have for sure.
Ryan mink.
Ingratku, could you talk four your starter at Stanford, That's that's pretty impressive. Can you talk about where your game grew, what you'll bring to the Ravens. Then secondly your matchup with Jordan Addison.
Yeah, I'll start with my career. I mean just playing four years of ball, you get a lot of experience, see a lot of football. You learn a lot about the game as the years grow. And I feel like what I bring to the secondary and just to the team is one a competitor, really really uber competitor. You know, whatever I'm doing, I want to be the best and beat the best nickel and a corner, you know, whatever they want to want to fit me at and man
covers covers. I was able to experience a lot of different scheme diversity that really helps me be in a Swiss Army Knight put me in different places. As far as Jordan a great player, great player. He got me on that one post and we had some up the line of scrimmage and I didn't get any balls after that, but great player.
I see him doing well in the league, just like I expect myself to do well. And yeah, for sure, we'll go to Brian Whacker.
Hey, how you read that you signed a deal with Microsoft for a video game that you created and you're also involved in real estate development. Can you just talk about what sparked those two things.
Yeah, I believe it or not. It's pretty cliche. My dad, my dad, it was funny. For the video game.
We have a friend of ours who was creating a movie that's gonna come out and it's based on what the video game is based on, and he introduced it to my dad and I play video games, so my dad, they both knew nothing about video games, and he was like, you know, my son.
Plays a lot of video games. And he was like, ky, you can you create.
A story like a storyboard or a log or some type of lore for this game and figure out a story based behind it. And I just sat down, like maybe a few hours, created a whole storyboard, characters and stuff like that, and they gave it to the company and they really liked it. So that game is still in progress. We're still figuring that out. It would definitely be coming.
Out soon with the movie and everything and real estate once again.
My dad, believe it or not, he's definitely doing real estate development right now.
He got his own development company out in Vegas.
And I was blessed to be at Stanford to do internships with venture capitalists and private equities and real estate firms alike, and just being around it with my dad seeing it around. There's something I would just want to dive into throughout this whole process in the NFL and after on.
The video game.
What's the sorry, what's what is the game or movie or at least what's based in.
I can't I can't talk to us about the movie, but the video game is if you can think of like a Seal Team six that travels back in time to stop people from trying to change historic events.
So let's say somebody trying to.
Redirect I'm saying too much, but yeah, that's that's.
The hole.
Travel Seal Team sick.
Yeah, Yeah, thank you, Yeah, yeah, David.
And Roving, Hey, are you welcome to Baltimore? Obviously you will have the opportunity to participate in OTA's training camp against an offense with players like Lamar Jackson.
OBJ now Za Flowers. How good of a challenge this will be for your game?
I mean, this is something I used to always think about, like playing against you know, guys like Obj. I've seen Za Flowers in this process. Those are the guys I want to line up against, you know, I want to see what they got and they can, you know, just make me better, you know. I mean guys like that who are pros. And Zay Flowers, who is going to be a great rookie for our team. I feel like
that's just gonna make me better. It's just an iron sharpens iron thing and a competitive guy like me, I want my first shot as bad as than when I can. You know, I'm just jump out there and make sure I'm doing better getting better.
But Brown, congratulations. Did you have any contact with the Ravens during the pre draft process and what do you know? How much do you know about the Ravens or even Baltimore coming from out from alt from Stanford.
Yeah, I mean it's starting off with Baltimore mailing, never been never been heard great things about it.
But the Baltimore Ravens is a historic football program.
I mean, coming from I watched Marlon Humphreys, I don't know how many times dudes, the baller Marcus Spears when he was there. You guys got Kyle Hamilton now just Eric Weddle, like guys in the secondary that I've watched around my whole entire life. But Ed reed too, like that's even crazier just me being be able. I have an opportunity to sement my legacy also when there. But as far as the process, I had a meeting with
the DV coach Zoom meeting. Honestly, I never talked to Harbone until today, never talked to the GM until today. But Ryan Capetta is my trainer at Proactive, and he told me they reached out at the combine. I was just wondering what type of guy I am, and Ryan of course said, I'm a super competitor and love to compete. And that was honestly the first interaction I had up until.
That Zoom meeting. But I'm just super stoked man, super glad to be a raven, super blessed.
Jeff's reeback.
What was the moment?
Usually the team after they make some picks the next couple days or whatever sends out. You know, some of the videos of the phone calls with guys getting that call to tell them they've been drafted.
What was the moment like for you?
And how special was it for your family knowing you know, father and son to have that bond, you know, in the NFL.
Yeah, honestly, I mean just going through the days. You know, it's a grueling process for any type of draft prospects. Sitting there watching everybody get picked dos in your position, the competitive nature and all of us is like that should have been me. But you know, every team has a fit. You know, every team loves you, and I'm just glad. You know, the Ravens love me. But just sitting there, man, I mean, you don't expect it, You don't expect it. I was sitting there my talking to agents.
Of course, they're telling me other teams. They're telling me teams that wasn't even the Ravens that they might jump up and take me. But and then it just happened. I got the four to one zero area code and said Baltimore Ravens, and I was just so happy.
Man.
It's just a breadth of fresh air to finally have a home, you know, finally have a home.
We'll go Jonas Schaeffer and then, Garret Downey.
Are you with your Bishop Gorman roots and also working out a proactive Have you gotten to know Ronnie Stanley at all?
No, Honestly, I've heard he's a legend around Gorman. He was there a while before I was, but I always knew he was a legend. Would love to meet him, love to talk about his days at the g But yeah, I never got a chance to meet him, but definitely get the chance to now for sure.
Go ahead, Garrett, You're the first player from Stanford the Ravens have ever selected.
Oh wow, that's crazy.
Yeah, and what does that?
What does that mean to you?
Man?
I mean, it's just just being a Raven in general.
I feel like I just I just got to bring it, you know, bring everything I have to this whatever position they need me at, wherever they want me at, just give it my own. Just be so thankful, you know, I really thankful the Harvard, really thankful to the Ravens, you know, taking a chance on me and making sure there's no regrets with that, you know, making.
Sure they got the right guy. And I believe that I'm gonna make them believe that too, right, mink.
Nick Kay, I know you had a really good week at the Senior Bowl. What did you feel like you proved the teams there?
Definitely that I still got it.
You know. I feel like my season, my last season, my senior season prepared to my junior season, and I had in total and man to man, I think about twenty five targets of the whole entire season, So not a lot of opportunity to show myself, not a lot of opportunity to go out there and make plays.
And I just knew at the Senior Bowl, like, got I gotta turn.
It up here, you know, because people are like, Okay, he got a good junior year, his senior year was so so like is he still that same player?
And I think I proved that, you know, day in and day out, just making sure I'm competing and putting my best at perform.
All right, And we'll finish up here with Kevin Richardson.
Are you what are the things you think you need to work on at the next level and at Stafford? Were you able to ever play in special teams because most guys first coming in the league, special teams is one of the ways they make this make their mark.
Yeah, seeking of special teams that the tradition at Stanford. That's the right of passions.
No matter how good you are, Dudes like Christian McCaffrey and Solomon Thomas still plays special teams. You know, you're never too good to play to be off of special teams. So I was able to play gunner, jammer, kickoff. Those are the things that got me on the field as a freshman. You know, I played my I started my freshman year, but it was four games. In those three games before I was all special teams guy, just going in and at it. Yeah, I take a lot of
pride in that. I feel like that's how I gained the respect of from the top down GM, all the way down the player. I feel like just busting my butt on special teams, doing I need to do for the team is the biggest thing.
And sorry, did you ask another question? I got lost in the special teams question. Sure, what what is the other thing you think you need to work on at the next level?
Uh?
Yeah, I mean now I'm going to the Ravens. I look at a guy like Marlon Humphries. He's uber physical. I mean, he's one of the most physical corners in
this league. And I feel like that's definitely something I can plus in my game, you know, not being the same size as Marlin, different different types of players, I feel like, by the same time, making sure I bring that same physicality that they demand from their top guy, you know, I feel like that's something I definitely do And the only thing that keeps you in this league is a ball production.
Make sure I'll just get two hands on that ball and give it back to Lamar and Odell and let those guys do work.
All right.
Well, very good, Kaye, thank you for joining us, and again, congratulations, We look forward to meeting you in person this coming week.
Awesome. Thank you, guys, appreciate it.
So the Ravens are really fired up about this draft class and can't wait to see these guys get here to Baltimore and get to work. This is the Ravens Press Pass podcast. Make sure that you are subscribed to this feed. Also, if you want all the analysis from the weekend, go over and check out the Lounge podcast and subscribe to that as well. Now, the players are going to be here later this week for rookie Minicamp, so stay tuned for more to come.