***Transcript provided by the fine folks with the Denver Broncos PR Staff***
On his awareness of all the opinions surrounding his selection
"I have ESPN on like a lot of people, so I hear what's going on and what's being said. To be honest, I don't pay too much attention to it. I'm just excited and consider myself blessed to be a Denver Bronco, to be selected to come here. I am truly blessed and excited about it and I consider it a great honor."
On his flight into Denver and how it was affected by the weather
"No, not too bad. The weather coming in - We weren't sure if we were going to be able to land at the airport or if we would have to circle around a bit. But, it was great. It wasn't too much of a problem at all."
On the last 24 hours for him
"They've been exciting. They've been a lot of fun. To be honest with you, it's been a dream come true for me. Since I was six years old, it's been a dream to be a quarterback in the NFL and to now have this opportunity; I am extremely excited about it. It was wonderful for me because I got to spend that time with the people who have invested in my life and who have supported me since I was a little boy. From my high school coaches, to my family, to my brothers and sisters, to my mom and dad, just people who have been around for me and to be with them for that special moment was awesome because it wasn't just rewarding for me, it was rewarding for them and that's what was so special."
On what Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels said to him on the phone during the draft
"Well, I was actually standing with my family and with my agent. I was getting different calls from different people: friends, media, whoever. I was checking (my phone) and checking it and checking it, and I figured if (Coach McDaniels) was going to call, it was going to be from his cell phone. So, I checked it and it was a 303 (area code) and asked Jim (my agent) if I should answer it because I wasn't sure of the area code. He was like, ‘Yes! Yes! Answer it! Answer it!' So, I picked up the phone and he was like, ‘Hey, Timmy, this is Coach McDaniels.' I said, ‘Hey, Coach,' trying to act real cool and calm about it. Actually, he small talked for a second before he actually told me, ‘We traded up and we're going to take you with this pick. We're just happy to have you as a Bronco and just promise me that all of the things that we know about you, that's what we're going to get. That work ethic and everything that's with you and what we've met with and everybody, that's what we're going to get.' I promised him and then he told me to go and enjoy this moment with your family. I just said, ‘Thank you.' We text messaged back and forth a few times afterwards, but that was pretty much how it went."
On today's meetings with the Broncos' staff
"We've been getting down to the football since the first time we met. That's been the great thing. I think that we just connected in a lot of different ways with our passion, our determination and our love for football. We enjoyed talking ball together. I think that we connected with that. I think that those meetings went wonderfully. Coming into today, we were both extremely excited for me to be here and to just let him know that. To meet (Team Owner) Mr. Bowlen and to have the opportunity to say thank you for giving me a chance, and to sit down and talk to him for a minute was truly a pleasure and something that I'll always remember."
On his work with the Focus on the Family organization
"I don't necessarily know that I'll do more with (Focus on the Family). I think it's a good organization, but (the Super Bowl commercial) was kind of a one-time thing. We had a story that we felt was a very good story, an uplifting story and something that could maybe be inspiring to a lot of people. So, we felt like we had an opportunity to share that and took advantage of that opportunity to share that story. That was how that went and that was our goal with it, was just to get that story out and (Focus on the Family) were the ones that partnered to do that."
On his Future with Focus on the family and whether the commercial cost him endorsements
"To be honest with you, I had a few on the table that got pulled because of (the commercial), but I knew going into it that when you stand up for something, it's going to cost you something else. That's been the way it's been with me my whole life, but I'm willing to make those sacrifices for what I believe in and stand up for that. That's my personality and when I believe in something, I'm going to go do it with all of my heart and everything that I'm about and I'm going to stand up for it. I wasn't worried just because some people aren't as like-minded or they don't believe in what you believe in. So, they pulled (those endorsements) from me and that's how it went. No big deal. But I did lose a few from that and consider it a blessing."
On His Critics
"I think you're going to have critics your whole life. I think I've had them my whole life since I was a freshman in high school and they said that I couldn't be a quarterback in high school. We moved around and we found a spot in Nease High School that had a coach who gave me the opportunity to play quarterback. I tried to make the most of that. I got the opportunity to play college football and had a lot of critics in doing that. You know, ‘You can't do this in the SEC.' ‘You can't be a quarterback.' ‘You can't win a championship like that.' ‘You can't last.' I just tried to overcome that and, to be honest, through the course of my career, my critics and the people who have told me that I can't (accomplish something) have been one of my greatest motivating factors. I am a very self-motivated person but a little fuel on the fire never hurt. I love motivation, I love a challenge and I love it when someone tells me that I can't because it just pushes me that much more to accomplish that goal. I am excited about this challenge of playing in the NFL and trying to be an NFL quarterback. I am truly blessed that I get the opportunity to try to accomplish that here."
On when he first heard criticism about his throwing motion
"Probably my sophomore year of high school. That was just something that I went with and tried to go throw and just play football. I never actually worked on it too much until after the Senior Bowl and that's when I really worked on it and tried to bring it up a little bit and make it more compact. One: for ball security, Two: for accuracy and release. Those things I just tried to work on from the Senior Bowl until now."
On whether the Senior Bowl was when he began to revamp his throwing mechanics
"I think that's when it became a bigger issue."
On whether he can become a prototypical pocket passer in the NFL
"Well to be honest, the way I look at it - I am a prototypical quarterback. I like to do the things that a regular quarterback does and then am blessed with the athletic ability to do extra things - that's how I look at things. I'm a regular quarterback just like any other quarterback but then I have opportunities if I have to, to make a play or do something else. I want to be a regular quarterback, a pocket quarterback. I want to work and try to be great at that. That is my goal; I want to be a great pocket passer. That's something I'm working on and then if it breaks down and you have an opportunity to do something you add on with God-given ability."
On why he draws so much attention
"Well, I couldn't answer that. Honestly, I think it has to do with a lot of different things. I think it has to do with some of the things I've stood up for off the field, I think it has to do with some of the success that I had in college; I think it has to do with being a quarterback at the University of Florida. I think it has to do with a lot of different things and so it's really hard to just narrow it down and say, ‘This is the one thing,' or ‘This is why.' I think it has to do with a lot of different things, but like you said, there are a lot of great players that have been selected or haven't been selected and I'm just truly blessed to be one of those players that got a chance already and I'm truly thankful for it."
On pressures to start, being a 1st round selection
"I don't really look at it as pressure; I don't really look at it as an expectation. I look at it like, ‘What can I control?' I'm going to go in there and I'm going to work as hard as I can every day. I'm going to be first one in and last one to leave because that's what I can control - I can't control anything else. I'm going to work extremely hard and give my heart and soul to this organization and I'm going to try to be the best football player, quarterback, that I can be and be the best Denver Bronco and that's how I look at it and that's how I'm going to approach it every day."
On what number he will wear for the Broncos
"I think we just decided on No. 15."
On reports that he wants to stay in Denver until the Rookie Minicamp
"I would love to but I still don't think I'm allowed to. I asked them if I could but I don't believe that I'm allowed to. I think you have to be out or you could be fined for it so I'm going to go home."
On having to adjust to the Denver weather after not playing in cold weather at Florida
"That's not true, I did play a game against South Carolina and it was freezing my sophomore year (laughing). I haven't played many cold games but I think I'll adapt well. I think I've been blessed with big hands and the opportunity to play in a lot of wet games so I've played in the rain a lot. It'll be different playing in the cold and the snow and I'll work in it to try to prepare for it the best that I can but I don't believe that will be too big of an issue."
Thoughts after Quinn addition
"Well it wasn't that they acquired Brady Quinn, it was that they kind of stopped talking to my agent. I thought we had a great meeting at the Combine and from what I've heard now, it was a great meeting but I didn't know because afterwards I didn't hear from them or even talk to them and they didn't even come to my pro day so I thought, ‘Guess it didn't go as well as I'd thought.' We kind of just went on with everything and then they called sort of at the last minute and said, ‘We'd love for you to come in on the last day,' and I said, ‘Absolutely.' So I came in and met all day and they said, ‘We're going to come Monday to work you out.' We met all day Monday, film, board, work, everything, went to the field, went through all their drills and they were awesome - they were two of the best days that I've had and I loved it."
On the timing of the meeting
"It was morning to early afternoon and I believe they left after that to fly to Atlanta."
On his connection with Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels
"I think we really had an immediate connection. I think we love football, we're both passionate about it. We're passionate about life, we're excited about it. We're very determined and when we believe in something we stand up for it and we get behind that. I think there are a lot of similarities there and I am truly blessed to play for him. I think he's a great coach and I think if you look at what he's done as a coach (he) has been successful throughout his career. I'm blessed to play for him - he's a quarterbacks coach - I say that because he has time on the defensive side of the ball and he knows so much about defense. Teaching a QB that is such a weapon because you're understanding what the defense is thinking and you're understanding how to affect them because you know exactly what they're going to do and I think that's a huge advantage for a quarterback."
On how long it will take for his new mechanics to become muscle memory
"I believe it became muscle memory a long time ago. I believe in my work ethic and once we started working on it and started to change it we had three throwing workouts a day - pretty much 900 balls a day where I'd go through those drills and go out and throw and throw and throw until it became muscle memory. Within two weeks, when I picked up a ball, that was how I threw. It wasn't even how I throw it - it was how I get to my throwing position. It has nothing to do with my release or throwing the football; it has to do with where I'm holding it and where I get to that throwing position. That was the biggest thing for me. It wasn't necessarily my throw or my follow-through or anything like that, it was just taking the windup out and that's just kind of the backswing per say. It wasn't really that big of a deal because after a few throwing workouts it became muscle memory because we did it a lot and we did it often."
On whether the new mechanics have increased or decreased his arm strength
"I think it's increased it for sure because you're not having to guide it the whole time, it's more of you're set, you can use more body, more legs and I've been blessed to have a decently strong core and everything so I feel like I can get more power on the ball."
On whether people have underestimated his arm strength
"I don't' know how everybody has graded it. I believe I have a strong enough arm to make the throws in the NFL and that's what I'm worried about."
On his familiarity with former Broncos QB John Elway
"I absolutely grew up watching him, idolizing him as a quarterback, watching him diving across the endzone winning superbowls. As a kid, as a young athlete aspiring to be a quarterback, you know who John Elway is and you know what he's all about. To be honest, I'm a guy who likes to go back and watch film and I was watching him back at Stanford and watching all those old games. I've seen a lot of John Elway, I've never talked to him, I've never met him but I'll look forward to if I get that opportunity I'd count it as a pleasure and it'd be an extreme honor."
On how many other teams' hats he had ready at his draft party
"To be honest, I don't even know what other teams we had, that was my agent who picked those hats out. They're probably taking them back to Dick's (Sporting Goods) right now or something (laughing). We probably had quite a few."
On what he wants to show Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels
"Well I can't be more thankful for him deciding to take me and stepping out there and taking me. That will be one of my biggest goals in the NFL is proving him right and making him proud, making him thankful that he drafted me. Like I told him, I'm going to try to make his birthday extremely special."