Senior Bowl Q&A: LB Darryl Sharpton

Miami LB Darryl Sharpton is in Mobile, Alabama preparing for Saturday's Senior Bowl game. Find out what his experience has been like, who he blew up during a Wednesday full-contact practice, and which NFL teams have been meeting with him. It's all in this exclusive interview with Ed Thompson.

Ed Thompson: Darryl, what are you learning while you're working out here in Mobile?
Darryl Sharpton: One thing that I'm learning is that there's a lot of carryover from college to the NFL. There's different terminology--we call some of the same things different calls. I'm  learning some different techniques which is putting more tools in my toolbox, as the coach likes to call it.

Thompson: What are you hoping the coaches and scouts assembled here will see in your performance this week?
Sharpton: I'm sure everybody knows that I'm a physical player. But I also want to show them my speed, my ability to read offenses, react and break to the ball. That's what I really want to show them this week.

Thompson: Let's talk about that physical side of your game, because I saw you take on Jeff Byers, a pretty tough offensive lineman out of USC who was attempting to block you out of a run play. It was a huge collision, and Byers went down and got back up kind of slow.
Sharpton: That's what I do, back in Miami we call it putting guys in the trunk. And that's what I like to do, I like to come downhill, I don't back down to anybody, that's my specialty, but I have other tools in my toolbox as well.

Thompson: Let's talk about those other tools. How about your pass coverage skills and working in open space?
Sharpton: I think I've done a good job this week of getting back in zone coverage, reading the route combinations so I get in the right spots and the right windows and disrupt the passing lanes for the quarterback. This week, I feel that I've been effective with that. I've been content with my pass coverage this week.

Thompson: What have NFL teams been asking about you as a person?
Sharpton: They ask a lot of unconventional questions so they can dig into your mind and see what you're thinking. But I've been a good guy my whole life, so it's not hard for me to tell the truth and let them know everything about me. I'm a good person, and I'm going to let them know that.

Thompson: Name a few of the teams that you've been talking to so far this week.
Sharpton: The Colts, New England, the Carolina Panthers, the Ravens-- a lot of the "U NFL teams" that have University of Miami players. I met with an assortment of teams, but those are a few that stick out.



(profootball.scout.com)