TRANSCRIPT: Patriots CB Marcellas Dial’s Conference Call with the New England Media
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Here’s what new draft pick Marcellas Dial said after being selected by the New England Patriots on Saturday:
On being selected by the Patriots (initial response portion was cut off):
“I’ve been living at home, waiting for it my whole life. So, for it to actually happen, I had a great, great time. My visit there, I had a great time. I was able to make a good first impression. For this to be the team I go to, it was just like a dream come true, unbelievable. A weight lifted on my shoulder.”
On what he remembers about the visit:
“I remember the coaches. It was all pretty cool. I was able to be myself, for, like, most of all. I was able to be myself around them. And I was able, like I said, again, my first impression was so good. I was able to be myself again whenever talking to them and going over the playbook and everything. They was very impressed with my knowledge of football and everything, and then as me as a person as well. So, like I said, it was a great visit. One of my best ones. I only had three, and I think this was really my best one.”
On what he wanted to tell the fan base about his game:
“Oh, yes. I’m a sticky corner in coverage. Someone that’s able to go up there and compete and play with any receiver, any body type. I’m very good at the point of attack. Whenever the ball is in the air, I can make plays on the ball. I know there’s bits and parts to my game that I got to get better at, but that’s why I’m going to come in and work to get better at it.”
On his journey to South Carolina and what the journey was like for him:
“Coming out of high school, I wasn’t heavily recruited. I was taking the [Junior College] route. Whenever that happened, got out of high school, went into Georgia military for a year and a half, was able to go there and handle my business on and off the field, so I was able to be an early enrollee. Enrolled in South Carolina January 2021. Prior to going to GMC, whenever I first got to GMC, I kind of spoke me going to South Carolina into existence. I told everybody, all my teammates, I was coming in, I told them as soon as South Carolina, offered me. I’m committing. I told my coaches, that’s the school I want to go to. I want to go to that and play for my hometown and they made it happen. Coincidentally, South Carolina was my first offer. It all happened for a reason. It’s all God’s plan.”
On where he is and who he celebrated this with:
“I’m back in Woodrow from my hometown. I’m with my family, some of my close family, all my siblings, there’s six of us, all my siblings, my mom, and my grandparents on my dad’s side. My dad passed away in 2021, July 6, 2021. So he’s not here with us physically, but he’s here in spirit. But then a couple of my teammates, and that’s really it – a couple of my friends – that’s really it.”
On him winning the overcoming adversity award and what that meant to him:
“Yeah, that’s just my life, how it’s been. It’s been me – I’ve been an underdog all my life. I’ve been having to fight this uphill battle all my life. Me, overcoming adversity, that’s something I’ve been doing my whole life, so it’s nothing new. Then I think they presented it to me because of my journey getting to there. Then my journey, throughout my three years there, I was in a rotation and everything. Never once was thinking about getting in the [transfer] pool. Never once complaining or anything. Just kept my head down, kept working, didn’t rebel against the coaches or anything. So I just overcame a lot of adversity like I have in my whole life.”
On what he meant about speaking this into existence and how the Patriots were his best visit:
“No, I ain’t going to cap. It was kind of my agent, too. He kind of spoke this into existence, too, because one of his players, Stephon Gilmore, was his client as well. So he kind of spoke it into existence too. But like I said, it was one of my best visits. So I did – I was thinking – I didn’t know. It caught me by surprise when they told me I was their first defensive player. That’s an honor to be their first defensive player off the board. So I kind of was thinking, didn’t want to speak on it too soon, but it’s something I really did feel deep in my heart that I may have it just by my first impression I sent on them.”
On the connection to Stephon Gilmore and if he’s talked to him about the team:
“No, sir. We haven’t connected yet. I’m sure we will in the future because I’m going to one of the teams that he got drafted to. So I’m sure we will in the future. But I kind of got with my agent a little bit late. I had an agent before him, and we had … I had to fire him. So me and my new agent, which was Stephon Gilmore’s agent, we kind of locked in kind of late in my process. So, we haven’t got that far down the road yet.”
On if there are any other Patriots players he has any connection with, and if he met any players during his visit:
“It wasn’t … I don’t have any connections on the team, but let me see. I know one is a receiver that I had. We met in a Hibachi restaurant. I forget his name. Kendrick. Kendrick? Kendrick Bourne? We met in a Hibachi restaurant. We had just kicked it off right off the bat and it was kind of weird because I didn’t know him, he didn’t know me, but we just like kind of connected to each other and just started talking about everything. He was telling me his journey and everything, telling me, like, I was on the right track and everything. It’s just so crazy to be here now. It’s just so crazy that I ended up here. It’s so crazy. It’s crazy that he’s my teammate now.”
On the Hibachi restaurant and where it was and how he met Bourne:
“It was right beside the stadium … I think it was called Saga or something … Yeah, Saga. It was called Saga. It was right outside a hotel with a view of the stadium and everything. It was a nice spot and everything, but it was called Saga. I had actually met him after I got done eating. I was walking out and then he was sitting at the bar by himself, and we just kind of locked eyes, and it went from there. We just locked eyes and literally started talking to each other. I didn’t even know that he was on the team. He had let me know he was on the team. Like I said, he told me his journey and everything, and it was just up from there. Then I saw him the next day because that was the day before my visit. I saw him the next day in the building. He had dapped me up like twice. He saw me twice, three times, and he dapped me up during my visit. He was a cool guy. It was good energy.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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