Seattle Seahawks rookie left guard Grey Zabel is in the middle of rookie minicamp right now, but the first-round draft choice out of North Dakota State had his first press conference at team headquarters in Renton earlier this week. Zabel and Seahawks general manager John Schneider fielded questions from Seahawks media, but Zabel was obviously the star of the show.
Here’s a snippet of some of the notable quotes from the interview (transcript courtesy of Seahawks media), along with the accompanying full video at the bottom of the page.
John Schneider’s opening statement
Schneider: “Welcome to Grey Zabel Day, this is an awesome day. We’ll celebrate Grey, but first I want to thank everybody we can possible. Whether it’s all of the scouts, the coaches, all the training staff, the medical group, Dave (Pearson) in PR, social media, Stu (Stuart McNabb) and his group, EK (Erik Kennedy) and his group for putting this coming weekend on which we’re having 72 players involved in this minicamp, drafted players, rookie free-agents and then try out players. I’m just very appreciative of everybody’s efforts and everything that went into the whole draft.
“Ted Thompson (former Seahawks Vice President of Football Operations) would say ‘Welcome to Green Bay,’ God rest his soul. Ted Thompson was the gentleman who drafted Steve Hutchinson. I was blessed enough to work for him here the year we drafted Hutch and then in Green Bay for a number of years, but it’s a beautiful day here in Seattle and he would call it a ‘Chamber of Commerce’ day here. Pretty awesome, beautiful, day here and we’re here to celebrate Grey Zabel. On behalf of Jody Allen, Bert (Kolde), Chuck (Arnold), Mike (Macdonald) and his staff, I know your folks are watching, Mark and Tanna (Zabel), and I just want to let your parents know that you’re in great hands with the people in this building and we’re going to everything we can to help you be a successful player and to help us be a world championship team. So with that, congratulations man. Welcome.”
Has it sunk in yet for Zabel that he’s with the Seahawks?
Zabel: “Still hasn’t sunk in yet, I’ve got to wake up and pinch myself every single morning that I get to play for the Seattle Seahawks. It probably never will sink in.”
Conversations with Steve Hutchinson
Zabel: “Hutch (Steve Hutchinson) has been awesome throughout this experience. He interviewed me down at the (Reese’s) Senior Bowl and he interviewed me at the (NFL) Combine. He’s been a real mentor this past week and being able to ask him all the questions that a rookie or a new guy has has been unbelievable. I’m super grateful for him.”
On what former college teammate and current Seahawk Jalen Sundell taught him at NDSU
Zabel: “I think Jalen’s a master of his craft. I was fortunate enough to room with him. He was kind of a big brother to me throughout college. What an awesome deal that I was able to join him here at the Seahawks. He’s taught me a lot of life-lessons and super excited to hopefully learn some more from him here.”
The decision to wear No. 76, the same jersey number as Steve Hutchinson
Zabel: “Well, that was kind of the equipment staff’s idea, and I had to ask Hutch (Steve Hutchinson) if it was okay to wear it. He was all for it and super excited for it. So, there’s no better number to wear in Seattle history.”
Is Zabel much of a trash talker?
Zabel: “A little bit. Offensive line, you can’t score, you can’t catch a pass, you can’t do any of that. So, when you block a guy extremely well, sometimes you’ve got to let him know and I think that’s the fun and joy of playing offensive line. But, at the same time, you’ve got to stay humble in your ability.”
Grey Zabel likes Busch Light, but will he be won over by Rainier Beer?
Zabel: “Just kind of depends. I haven’t tried it yet, I know that’s a huge brand up here in the Pacific Northwest. Hopefully if we have good OTA’s we can maybe try a few.”
