Here's what B.J. Raji had to say tonight after being selected by the Green Bay Packers with the ninth overall pick in the NFL draft:

Q: What are your thoughts on being picked by the Packers?

Raji: I just feel honored to be selected by such a great franchise with so much tradition, and it's just a blessing that they showed enough faith in me to make me a first-round pick.

Q: Did you expect to end up here?

Raji: To be honest with you, man, I was told by my agency that I'd be around in that area, I was told the five to nine area. So I knew it was a possibility.

Q: Why did you watch the draft at home, and not in New York City?

Raji: To be honest, the majority of people here are the people who helped me get to this point. They made some sacrifices for me, and I felt this was the best place for them to enjoy it as much as me because they deserve it as much as I did.

Q: What are your thoughts on playing in a 3-4 defense?

Raji: From what I've been told by the coaches, I played in it somewhat a little bit in college, it's a great team. I'll be honored to be in the middle of their defense.

Q: What did you learn from your academic ineligibility during the 2007 season?

Raji: It just taught me a lot about humility and got my focus together. It gave me a lot of patience. That was probably the hardest thing I had to go through. I knew if I could get through that and get back on the right track, I knew I'd be a draft pick.

Q: Does it bother you to be playing in the smallest NFL city?

Raji: Not at all. I only worry about things I can control. All I can control is the chance to do anything the coaches ask me to do and come in prepared. Everything else I really can't control.
 
Q: What did you do during the time you were academically ineligible?

Raji: Obviously being ineligible, you can't play, so my focus had to be more on my academics to get back into position to play. But I was also on the scout team at practice, so when I was out there I worked on my technique and things like that.

Q: What is your greatest strength, and what do you need to work on?

Raji: My greatest strength is probably my competitive nature, my will to win. ... As far as what I need to work on, I feel that my technique is something you can always get better at. Some technique issues, that's what I need to work on.

Q: Who is your agent?

Raji: David Dunn.

Q: How much do you weigh? What's the most you have weighed?

Raji: Right now I'm 332, and the biggest I've ever been was 350.

Q: What are your thoughts about the SI.com report claiming that you had tested positive for marijuana at the NFL combine, which was later determined to be untrue?

Raji: How could you not be anything but be frustrated, you know? How that all came about, I still will never understand. All I'm going to say about that is you spend your whole college career trying to build your character, and in a few moments, someone tries to tear it down. I didn't feel like that was right.

Q; Your parents are Pentecostal ministers. What was that like growing up?

Raji: They are. It was different. They were a lot stricter than most parents, but that's something I got used to over the years, and that helped me (inaudible) ...

Q: What did they think about you going to a Jesuit college?

Raji: That didn't come much into play. That really wasn't their concern. They really just asked me how good of an academic institution it was and my opportunity to play football there was.

Q: What is the story behind your father immigrating from Nigeria?

Raji: To be honest with you, there's really not much of a story to it. He came over from Nigeria because he was trying to follow his studies in the medical field, and he got over here, met my mom, and ...

Q: What was your best game at BC in the 2008 season?

Raji: Probably I'd have to say North Carolina State, just from a production standpoint. I had three sacks; playing interior line that's pretty hard to do at any level of football.

Q: Did you consider entering the 2008 draft after sitting out the '07 season?

Raji: I wouldn't call it 'considered.' It was an option for a small while, but I realized that, it's really tough for somebody come off the season and be ranked at their position pretty high, let alone coming off a season not playing. It was in my best interest to come back to school, get back to work, and stay at it.

Q; Do you emulate any NFL players?

Raji: Not really. I kind of watched more college. I liked the Warren Sapps and guys like that, but besides that, I watched a lot of Florida State, Miami defensive linemen.

Q: What's your leadership style? Are you like Sapp, vocal and emotional, or do you lead by example?

Raji: I like to think of myself as both. Playing the game of football, I realized your peers, your teammates, they tend to do what they see you do as opposed to just taking everything you say. Someone talking constantly, I mean, it can have a small impact on people as opposed to somebody who's really working and let your actions speak for yourself. I do have emotions in me, and I'm very passionate about the game of football, so I like to think of myself as both.

Q: How much do you know about the Packers' defense? How much impact will you have right away?

Raji: Being honest with you, I know a decent amount about the 3-4, the Packers defense in general I do not know much about. And how much impact I have will be determined by how I perform on the football field.