D'Brickashaw Ferguson

“I don't see myself as the perfect person at all.”

“Whenever there's negotiations, there's things that you absolutely love, and there's things that you accept.”

“As a college student, you're depending on your scholarship money, money your parents send you. So I guess when people start talking about big figures, it doesn't hit me.”

“If I don't explain or tell some of my experiences, I feel like I'm doing guys a disservice because I know as a younger player, there's things I could benefit from the experience of an older guy.”

“I just try to keep it simple, not let too many outside things influence me.”

“You rewind. You think of your preparation. You think of everything you did throughout the week, your life, the practices, the intensity. Everything flashes, and you come right back to that point. And it's like, game on.”

“At the Jets training facility in Florham Park, N.J., we have strength and conditioning staff but also a nutritionist, Glen Tobias, who helps to whip everyone into shape. There is a heavy emphasis on grass-fed meat and on foods that aren't genetically modified.”

“We constantly had family conversations. A lot of conversations about life. We've always been a family to where we did everything together, whether it was karate or Bible study... I just really had a chance to look and learn.”

“I think, growing up, I was seen as the perfect power forward. For a long time, I thought maybe I was supposed to be a basketball player.”

“Players have an in-season playing weight, and we have to be careful not to stray too far from it when we're not under the watchful eye of the nutritionist. This can be a problem when the food isn't being prepared and regulated by our cooking staff.”

“I've been cutting my hair ever since college. I try to do that whenever it gets rough. I'm not too cheap to go the barber shop, but I mostly try to do that by myself. I try to keep my skills sharp.”

“When a 300-pound person like me is playing, I'm supposed to drink at least a gallon of water a day.”

“You're always facing the top defenders in this league. To go out there and do your best, that's all you can ask for.”

“There's a number of years that went by going from a white belt to a black belt. And I think, in a similar respect, years go by with your maturation process, and it's just as important to be disciplined with that as it was in karate.”

“I received a call from Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Eric Mangini. They asked me if I was ready to become a New York Jet. I quickly answered 'yes' and began to hug everyone at the table.”

“Rex Ryan is definitely a very confident individual and, when you have someone who believes firmly in what he's speaking, you naturally absorb it.”

“You begin to take on the mentality of your coach. If he feels so confident, then I feel confident.”

“You have to have a plan. This isn't wishing. Instead of always being in a hopeful situation - like, 'I hope one day ...' - let's claim it now.”

“You should never say 'D'Brickashaw' and 'bust' in the same sentence. You should never even think that. It should be D'Brickashaw, Pro Bowl, D'Brickashaw, Jets, Super Bowl.”

“Understanding the intentions of a play is so key because you can block a guy into the running back if you don't know how the play is supposed to work or where the back is going to come out.”