INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Pike said the first thing he will do when he gets drafted is thank God, then his family. He recounted the sacrifices they made so he could chase a dream and said he looks forward to treating them.
If an NFL general manager asked the same question, Pike said, he would give the same answer.
"I think it's big to show these guys you've got a strong base," he said. "Obviously a lot of people ask if anything is more important than football, and I've always put faith and family and then football. I feel strongly about that. One of the reasons I'm here today is because I've always put those two in front."
It was a thoughtful answer delivered earnestly. Pike, the former Reading High and University of Cincinnati quarterback, seemed genuine.
But agents spend so much time schooling prospects prior to the NFL scouting combine that it is often difficult to tell what is real and what is rehearsed. And team officials are so paranoid about divulging their plans that they spew nonsense in the apparent hope that reporters will become too bored to ask a follow-up question.
Ever listen to one of Marvin Lewis's press conferences on 1530? Multiply it by 32 and you get the combine.
Amid all the hot air in Lucas Oil Stadium the past four days, there were a few comments worth noting -- some humorous, some poignant, some insightful. Here is a sampling from one reporter's notebook ...
(On a programming note, I have so much more in my notebook that we will have semi-regular draft stories on CNati from now until the draft April 22-24.)
* Ravens coach John Harbaugh admitted having interest in receiver Terrell Owens, who will become an unrestricted free agent March 5. "I've always said I've got a lot of respect for T.O., and I know Ozzie (Newsome, the Ravens GM) does, too. He had a good year last year. We watched tape on him and he was very effective."
* Rams general manager Billy Devaney on whether he will entertain trade offers for running back Steven Jackson: "We need more players like Steven Jackson. We can't be poop-canning him out of the building. You know what I mean? We've got to get some guys like that in. No, there is no talk about trading Steven Jackson, and there won't be any."
* Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez and USC receiver Damian Williams share an agent with Bengals backup quarterback Jordan Palmer, so they have caught passes from him on occasion in recent weeks. Hernandez said he has not talked with Palmer except to exchange pleasantries, but Williams has made a point to pick his brain.
"Jordan has been great," he said. "He tells me the ins and outs of what Carson looks for, as far as a receiver coming off the line -- if he hasn't evened up the cushion in so much time, he's on to the next guy. Stuff like that, just little tidbits, what coaches are looking for."
* Tennessee safety Eric Berry on his lack of interceptions last season: "Teams were looking at me like I had the plague. They were always going away from me. I had to run all the way across the field to make a tackle."
* Quarterback Jarrett Brown played basketball at West Virginia for former UC coach Bob Huggins. "Hugs, man, I loved playing for that dude," Brown said.
* Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said his only exposure to most of the top prospects prior to the combine came from watching college football on television on Saturday afternoon. Then he added with a smile and obvious sarcasm: "Or Tuesday night or Wednesday night or Thursday night TV, the way the NCAA does it now. But we're all about academics in the NCAA."
* Idaho guard Mike Iupati was 14 years old when his family moved from American Samoa to the United States. His parents wanted him and him and his siblings to have access to a better education.
"They sacrificed a lot of stuff to move from Samoa because we were very well off," Iupati said. "Coming to the U.S. and realizing it's very difficult financially, we moved into my Auntie's house and stayed there for a whole year. ... My Auntie offered the house, but we decided -- there were five of us -- to live in the garage."
Iupati, who is the top-ranked guard in the draft and a certain first-round pick, said his goal is to purchase a house and land for his parents in Samoa, so they can return to their homeland.
* Jets coach Rex Ryan on watching the combine drills: "You see these offensive linemen run the 40 and you're like, `Ooh, he made it.' "
* Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is 1/16th Cherokee. He was asked if he would be reluctant to play for the Washington Redskins. "No," he said flatly. When asked another way, he said, "I'm not going to address that issue. That's not something I'm going to worry about now. If that's something I have to face later on down the road, I will, but there's really no reason to address that right now."
* ESPN analyst Adam Schefter reported Thursday night that if Rams doctors decide Bradford's surgically repaired shoulder is sound, the team will draft him No.1 overall. When asked about it Friday morning, Billy Devaney smiled and said, "That took a lot of pressure off us right away when Dr. Schefter cleared him medically. ... So we're on to the second round now."
* Texas safety Earl Thomas had two years of eligibility remaining, but he entered the NFL draft in order to support his family, which has struggled financially since being hit by Hurricane Rita in 2005.
"I want to get them out of my grandparents' house, buy them a house," he said. "It's going to feel good to take a load off their shoulders."
* Myron Rolle left Florida State to become a Rhodes Scholar. During his year at Oxford University, he continued to train for a future NFL career. His classmates had a difficult time comprehending the draft and pre-draft process, including the combine.
"It didn't make much sense to them," Rolle said. "Usually I'd just try to change the subject to global economics or world hunger or something."
* Texas quarterback Colt McCoy on being known as a leader: "My freshman year, I stood in the huddle with five guys who had just won the national championship and just played with Vince Young. You can imagine what that's like in spring ball trying to call a play in front of them. They're like, `I'm not listening to you, dude. You're a freshman.' Overcoming that and where I am today, a lot of leadership lessons learned and a lot of lessons that will carry on into the NFL."
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