Denver Broncos Rookie Orientation Quotes (5/13/17)

DENVER BRONCOS ROOKIE ORIENTATION QUOTES (5/13/17)

RUNNING BACK DE’ANGELO HENDERSON

On his initial thoughts on being in Colorado “I’m liking it. Being a country boy from South Carolina, I come out here to Colorado and adjust and everything like that. Seeing all the different scenery and green, I’m loving it. It’s different but I like it.”

On the Broncos signing RB Jamaal Charles “I was excited. I been watching [RB] Jamaal Charles play for the past couple years. To be able to be in the same backfield with him and learn from him, I think that’s one of the most beneficial things for me as a rookie. I think I have a head start on a lot of things.”

On what he’s learning from Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Eric Studesville “Coach Studesville is smart. He literally, in the last few days, has taught me so much in terms of just understanding offensive schemes and defense. I think I learned—he’s taught me a lot. I’ll say that. I’m very appreciative of him and I’m so excited to see how much he can teach me.”

On what he is focusing on “I’m just focused on doing everything I can do to be the best player I can be and contribute as much as I can. If it’s running to go get the ball for somebody, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m just excited to be here. Like I said, I’m from a small town, so just to be here is a blessing.”

On whether he’s spoken to the veteran running backs yet “I talked to [RB] C.J. [Anderson] via Twitter. He just told me, ‘Welcome to the Room.’ But no, I haven’t talked to anybody else yet. I’m just excited to meet everybody come Monday.”

On meeting the veterans when minicamp starts “I definitely thought about it. Look at the room. The room is full of talented guys who have put in a lot of years and work in this league. They’ve done something that I’m trying to do, and that’s be successful here. I’m definitely going to take in everything that they can teach me. Just be humble with everything.”

On the importance of rookie orientation “It’s necessary. They have to go through all that administrative stuff. There’s paperwork. Just making sure that we understand what we’re getting involved with. Definitely it’s necessary.”

©2017 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club. On his nickname ‘Hop’ “Every time I see [DE] DeMarcus [Walker], he says, ‘What’s up, Hop?’ It came from high school. I got hurt. I was supposed to miss six to eight weeks. I looked at my trainer in his eyes and told him he was crazy because I wasn’t missing six to eight weeks. I came back and I was hobbling around. I got to college and my coach asked if I had a nickname. I said, ‘Hop.’ And he was like, ‘It makes sense.’ [Head Coach of Coastal Carolina Joe] Moglia with his old Italian accent, ‘Oh, it makes sense.’ At least I can jump cut pretty good. It just took off from college.”

On the significance of choosing No. 33 for his jersey “My fraternity brother Anthony Frye died March 2, 2016. He wore no. 33 when he played at Coastal. He was one of my closest friends. He was my Dean that helped me get into being a member of Omega Psi Phi. I love him to death. I knew him before all that stuff, before I became his frat brother. Just one of my good friends. I could go on for days about how good of a person he is. How genuine he was. How much we talked about this moment coming. I miss him, I definitely want to honor him. My mentor also-- have to throw this in there, [Assistant Special Teams Coach for Indianapolis Colts] Maurice Drayton wore 33 as well. So that’s pretty cool, too.”

On whether it was fate he was given No. 33 “I won’t say luck, I’ll say fate. Everything that happens, happens for a reason. The number was open for a reason and I’m blessed to have it.”

On his relationship with Special Teams Coordinator Brock Olivo “Coach Olivo, man, my goodness. I could talk to y’all for days about him, too. Coach Brock is one of those guys that I naturally just fed off of when I was with him at Coastal. His energy, his enthusiasm, his intelligence of the game, everything. Definitely, fed off of him and everything he provided for us and brought to the table at Coastal. Definitely going to do the same here. I’m going to be a sponge and soak in as much as I can from him and the guys as well. Definitely great to have a familiar face here.”

On his training regimen “Between Coastal Carolina and MJP (Michael Johnson Performance) where I trained at in Texas leading up to the combine and stuff, and everything that’s going to happen here, I think I’m around some good guys in terms of strength and conditioning.”

On what he hopes to gain from the coaches and veterans “Increasing my knowledge of football. Coming from college, you know college. When you come to the NFL, it’s a whole different level. Just increasing my knowledge. Just being a sponge to everybody. Just soaking up as much knowledge as I can from the older guys and the guys that have been around for a while. How can I last? How can I be successful? I’m sure the coaches and the guys as well will help me become a better man.”

On what players he looked up to and wanted to be like growing up “Growing up, my favorite running backs were (Pro Football Hall of Fame Running Back) Barry Sanders and (Former NFL Running Back) Warrick Dunn. For the most part, I try to do what they do, but at the same time, MJD [Maurice Jones-Drew] came along and started plowing through people. I thought, let me try that. There are definitely different guys that I looked at that play the game. I’m naturally attracted to the guys who are more my size.”

On what a Chanticleer is “I get that a lot. I’m preparing an answer. Nobody really knows a lot about Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleer of course. It’s a small school in Conway, South Carolina. Not a lot of people know where Conway is. Not a lot of people have been to South Carolina. Any time you want me to explain it to you, I will.”

On the last time he spoke with Washington Redskins CB Josh Norman “Last time I spoke with him—he came to the NFLPA game that I played in this past year. I saw him up there and we just said a few words. Nothing too much. That’s the last time I talked to him.”

©2017 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club.