Packers 2017 Draft: Interview with Manitoba OG Geoff Gray

Q: Your head coach Brian Dobie gave you a ringing endorsement when he not only talked about your physical tools, but also your intelligence. What sort of assignments or responsibilities did you have in terms of communicating with your teammates on offense?

A: Especially in this last year, I was, for a fact, the one who had been there the longest out of all the offensive linemen. So, I definitely took on more of a leadership role in terms of knowing the playbook and knowing the assignments. We certainly did have a pro-style offense with our protections and everything. So, there were a fair amount of adjustments week-to-week just to stay on top of. I’m definitely on the ball with all of that.

Q: Describe what you’re looking at when you’re down in a three-point stance? Are you scanning the safeties, are you looking at the linebackers to see if they’re flatfooted or are you solely focused on the man right in front of you?

A: It really depends week-to-week. So, I do watch film on that team going into that week and kind of identify where the tells in their defense are. We play a big variety of defenses, so some weeks, for instance, when we play Calgary…they liked to blitz a lot from the secondary. So, you would be looking back to see where the pressure was coming from.

Sometimes we would be playing Saskatchewan and we’d be looking at the WILL linebacker a lot because they’d run a lot of weak stuff and do some different things. So, it’s sort of trying to identify what their tells are during the week and we may be looking at something different each week. But you really don’t want to be staring at the guy in front of you because they don’t tend to pop up out of nowhere.

Q: You grew up in Winnipeg as a fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Have you considered playing in the CFL? 

A: Growing up, I watched more CFL than NFL. That was the way I kind of just gravitated when I was kid. So, I wouldn’t be disappointed by playing in the CFL by any means, but when you’re playing football, you want to be playing at the highest level possible. So, that’s just kind of the nature of it in that the odds favor the NFL over the CFL. But at the end of the day, if I’m in the CFL, I’m still playing football and I would be happy with that. Going into this past season, the CFL was a lot more on the radar than the NFL.

Q: Just out of curiosity because I really don’t follow it, but in the CFL I know you have your own draft? Are there just any many rounds?

A: Yeah, there are seven rounds in a CFL Draft and it actually happens after the NFL draft. So, they’ll sit back, wait and see what happens with me and go from there. Even if I were to be drafted or signed with an NFL team, I’m still likely to be chosen in the CFL Draft, and realistically lower. But then if I were to come back for some reason, the team that drafted me would still have my rights whenever…two, five or 10 years from now. They look at it as a long-term pick.

Q: So hypothetically speaking, if you had zero interest in the NFL and only had your sights set on the CFL, would it be safe to assume that you would be selected in the first round?

A: Hopefully, yeah. I think the CFL Scouting Bureau…I was I was third in the last one. I know they have a couple of projections. Realistically…hopefully, it would be a high pick.

Q: So, I take it that your first experience in actually playing American football was at the East-West Shrine game. That must have been quite an experience. What do you recall?

A: The Shrine game was the first time I ever played American football, so I was kind of focusing on that—the specifics of that itself. It’s just a whole different atmosphere with college football in the States than it is in Canada with the number of people that play the game and the fan atmosphere just wasn’t something I was used to. With all the scouts there, it was more than I was used to.

It’s always different when you go from playing against people that you’re used to and then going up against new players…that was something that was a little different. But I felt like I belonged physically and there was no one there I felt I couldn’t block just based purely on physical ability. I just focused more on myself and trying to learn from the coaching. If I used my technique correctly, I would be in good shape. I wasn’t worried about who I was going up against.

Q: Was there one prevailing question or concern during the pro day since you were still a relative unknown for many people?

A: There wasn’t one specific question. It was really for each team to decide what was their uncertainty. There was one uncertainty, I would say, in how I would adapt to the American game because I just haven’t played it that long and each person on each team is going to decide on their own based on the Shrine game film with what they saw. It’s pretty objective, I think. With my numbers, I did well in my pro day.

So, if I didn’t have the physical abilities, I wouldn’t be having this interest. It’s more so for the team to decide. There’s not much I can say one way or the other about how quickly I’ll adapt. It’s kind of something they’ll have to decide for themselves. I’m confident in my ability to learn this.

Q: How will things differ specifically for an offensive lineman going from the CFL rules employed by your college team to the American style?

A: You definitely have different offensive and defensive alignments and strategies, but at the end of the day, the same things lead to success as an offensive lineman. So, if you have good footwork and you’re aggressive and strong, you’re going to have success. The same stuff translates to the NFL and American football. Just the footwork is going to a little different, the angles are going to be a little different. But the principle is still the same, you’re just applying it differently.

Q: What can you say about your team visits? I know the Chiefs, the Raiders and definitely the Packers all have shown interest.

A: The only actual visit I had was with the Packers. I’ve spoken to other teams, but that was the only trip I had.

Q: Would you describe the visit as sort of a job interview of sorts?

A: I would say that I didn’t find it to be a super formal type of interview; it was more of a get-to-know-you. I did watch some of my film with the o-line coach. But it was more to see what type of person you are. It was cool to see the stadium and everything.

Q: You played rugby and some basketball in addition to football in the past. Why did you choose football over the other two team sports?

A: With basketball, I never too serious about it. I just kind of for laughs played it for a couple of years in high school, but I wasn’t too keen on it. But I definitely do like the contact of football and rugby. They’re both pretty violent sports. I’ve played football longer, but rugby is a neat sport. I like to watch it sometimes. It just doesn’t have the same popularity of football, so [football] would just be the sport I gravitate toward. I definitely like the aggressive sides of either of those sports.

Q: Being that you’re a serious weightlifter, how do you maintain your agility with all that massive amount of weight you’re throwing up?

A: Weightlifting translates very well to any sort of power explosive sport. The hip extension involved in the pull translates to hip extension in the power sports. So, it’s a major part of training for football, sprinting or anything like that. It’s kind of a misconception that weightlifting will make you slow. Olympic lifters have incredible jumping ability. I credit weightlifting with why I did so well in the vertical and broad jump. I will obviously do different lateral running and stuff like that like offensive-line specific footwork. But I wouldn’t say I do anything different than I would be if I were not weightlifting.

Q: Can you give me your top assets and tell me why you’ll be a success story in the NFL?

A: I think an asset is my lower-body strength, core strength and my flexibility as well. I’m able to keep a really good lower-body angle. I also have good knee and ankle bend. I have the ability to get into different positions and I would say I’m a quick learner in terms of technique and the playbook as well.

Q: Can you describe the mentality an offensive lineman should possess to be among the position at his position?

A: I think every person is going to look at things a little differently, but it doesn’t hurt to have a good understanding of the play and what’s happening conceptually. You can’t just have an individual mindset where you memorize what you do on one play in one instance. You have to have an understanding of what you are trying to achieve as a group because when things change and there’s defensive movement, things kind of change for you and you need to understand how all the pieces fit together.

As well, you have to have an aggressive edge. You can have perfect technique and everything, but at the end of the day, you want to put the guy into the ground. Being aggressive is something either people have or they don’t. It’s not really something that you can be taught how to do. You just need to have that and if you don’t have it at this point and time, I don’t think that’s really going to change.

Q: Are you encouraged by the success of your fellow countryman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of the Chiefs?

A: It’s definitely nice to see someone else in a similar position has succeeded doing it. It definitely helps put the confidence in it. But either way, I’m going to try as hard as I can to do as well as I can. It really hasn’t changed how I prepare for everything, but it is nice to see someone else has succeeded.

Q: What kind of teammate are you?

A: I’m naturally more of a quiet person. I tend to try to keep to myself for the most part, but I don’t need to be friends with everyone. I’m really just happy doing my own thing. I’m not anti-social, but I won’t seek out unnecessary conversation.

Q: Right. You’re not a rah-rah type of guy.

A: No. Leadership-wise, I’m more of a lead-by-example type of person. If someone comes to me for advice about anything, I’ll be happy to help. I’ll be happy to help someone with football or school or whatever. But I’m not really going to go out of my way to tell people how to do things. I’ll leave it to them to try to decide what to do.

Q: Have you had a chance to speak with former teammate David Onyemata who’s playing defensive tackle for the Saints? Is he giving you any tips?

A: Yeah, I talked to him quite a bit. He was back in Winnipeg, so we did a couple of runs together on the field. We just kind of had more casual conversation to see how things are going. Neither of us had ever lived in the States before.

Q: Being that you grew up in Winnipeg, you weren’t all that far from Minnesota or North Dakota. Did you make any trips out to those places as a kid?

A: I went down to Fargo or Minneapolis a few times as a kid and in recent years a handful of times. Nothing super expensive. I guess I went to Disney World as a little kid, but I really don’t remember it, so the Shrine game was really the first time I had been in Florida. It’s a little different than what I’m used to.

Q: What kind of advantage does having 34-inch arms give you?

A: The longer your arms are, the further you can keep people away from you and the better leverage you have. It’s a mechanical advantage. Getting into the person’s chest and having good leverage…it’s just a matter of physics, right? It helps you for sure, but you still have to put them in the right spot and use them.

Q: What type of versatility do you offer?

A: I think my versatility is excellent. It’s an important thing to have when you’re coming in. Not too many guys come out of college and play or start at their one spot. It’s good to be able to play all five positions and that’s something I’ve worked on. I’ve worked on my long snapping over the offseason and I was able to snap at my pro day. I haven’t played center in-game, but I’ve worked on snapping.

I’m comfortable at guard and tackle either way. I played primarily at guard in the Shrine game. Playing tackle in Canadian football and American football is a little bit different because in Canadian football, I’m not used to having a tight end playing beside me and the defensive alignment is a bit different. But I’m comfortable playing tackle. It’s just a matter of getting used to the angles and now that I’ve worked on snapping as well that can only help me down the road.

Q: Ok, Geoff. I’m going to toss a few non-football questions your way before we end the interview. What is your favorite meal?

A: It’s hard to pinpoint one thing. I’m a big food person. I like to eat and I like to cook different things. I’ll go with that I really like to cook some good burgers. That’s kind of my thing.

Q: Who’s been the most influential figure in your life up to this point?

A: That’s tough to say. I’m not really a super kick-back-and-think-about-things kind of guy. I just do what I do and it leads to whatever happens.

Q: What’s your favorite TV or reality show?

A: I would say it’s a toss-up between It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Q: Yeah, I love Curb myself and can’t wait for the new season to start. What is a vacation spot that you would love to visit?  

A: I was actually looking to going to Victoria in BC during the spring or whenever I get a break from football.

Q: What is your favorite activity when you just need to unwind from all pressures of football and everything you have going on in your life?

A: Just being able to relax. Between being in engineering and training all the time for football, I really don’t do a lot. I might spend some time to relax and cook. I don’t do a whole lot for fun so to speak. My fun is not doing the other things.

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