On if he had a lot of contact with the Browns prior to the 2016 NFL Draft:
"I had a meeting in Madison with them, and I talked to them at the Combine and Senior Bowl but nothing out of the ordinary, I don't think."

On if he will play outside or inside linebacker:
"They said that they would move me around a lot on the phone so probably a little bit of both inside and outside."

On how well he knows OL Joe Thomas, who also played at Wisconsin:
"I've never talked to him, but obviously, growing up in Wisconsin, I was a big fan. I haven't talked to him. Hopefully, when I get there, I will be able to ask him a couple of questions about how he made his career so successful."

On being a preferred walk-on at Wisconsin and getting to the NFL:
"Fortunately for me at Wisconsin, there is a long list of guys that have done that before me so I knew that if I put my head down, worked hard, did what the coaches said that I would have a chance. It worked out. I have always believed in myself, and now, I think that just helps me go into the NFL because I know how to work hard. I've put a lot of time into football, watching film and in the weight room. Now, I just plan on amping that up in the NFL. Not having school take up a lot of your time, now, I can focus more on my body and in the film room."

On former Wisconsin LB Chris Borland's impact on his game:
"I was with Chris for two years, and he was just a great guy for younger guys to look up to – his effort in the weight room and how much he studied film. It showed up on gameday when he knew the plays before the other team was running them. He made a lot of big plays. Being a linebacker under him allowed me to learn a lot of those values, just working hard and watching film."

On who is with him as he was drafted and having to wait a couple of days to be selected:
"Just my family is here today, my close family, my girlfriend, a couple of close friends. It's been a good wait. I watched the draft the first day not really expecting anything, obviously, and then yesterday not really expecting too much but maybe at the end. It's probably been a little… I wouldn't say disappointing because I was even more hopeful yesterday and I was more expecting to get picked today, but once I got the call right away today, it was finally I know where I'm going and I'll be able to go there and do what I do best. That's play football."

On his rise in production in 2015:
"I think a lot of it was schematic with our coaches a couple more years previous had us in coverage covering tight ends and backs man-to-man off more and this year I got to rush the passer more and obviously, offseason working on it. We've got a good position coach who came in (Wisconsin outside linebackers) Coach (Tim) Tibesar and did a lot for us in terms of pass rush and technique. That all kind of escalated to having a good season last year."

On playing a lot of sports in high school and why he chose to pursue football:
"The end of my junior season in football, we won the state championship for Wisconsin High School and I had a good year. It was always between football and basketball growing up, which one was my favorite. I think that year in that playoff run kind of switched it to football for me."

On if he played a lot of special teams at Wisconsin, given when he was drafted:
"Yeah, I played special teams every year pretty much. I played kickoff and punt last year. My position coach that came in he did a great job – he coached in the NFL for a couple of years – instilling in us that linebackers play special teams unless you're a bona fide sure-fire starter. When you're coming into the league, you're going to make your team on special teams. He had that engrained in us and we were playing special teams. For me as a senior playing special teams, I know it's important and that's something I'm willing to do."

On working with former Browns DB and Wisconsin secondary coach Jim Leonhard:
"He came in just this past winter so I got to see him in practice and talk to him a little bit. He is probably one of the best walk-ons to ever go through Wisconsin. He is just a super smart guy. With how he did it in NFL by working hard, staying in your lane and managing your time since you have so much more free time in the NFL than you do in college and also making sure you're putting the right things in your body since your body is your machine and then watching film and just getting smarter and becoming a better player every day."

On his personality on the football field:
"I'd say I am more of a calmer guy on the football field. I know my assignments and I am good schematically so I know what I can do and with that. I don't like to get too out of control. I just like to play within my limits and look at what the offense is giving me or on with special teams, I look for my indicators and going full speed but not out of control.

On if winning the scout team player of the year in 2012 was a motivator:
"Yeah, I would say that. The offensive line that year, I think every single one of them went on to play in the NFL and I was a middle linebacker on scout team getting beat up by guys like (OL Cowboys) Travis Fredrick, (OL Ravens) Ricky Wagner, (OT Rams) Rob Havenstein. It was a great learning experience for me and to earn that award at the end of the year was definitely a confidence boost."