Q: What does a (multi) million dollar contract feel like?

TYSON JACKSON: “Honestly, I really didn’t concentrate on that. I was just trying to get out here and be with my teammates and try to learn the system as fast as possible.”

Q: Was the waiting hard?

JACKSON: “Yeah, it was hard because I was trying my best to keep up with my teammates to see what was going on. I was trying to stay in contact with my teammates with phone calls, but it was kind of hard because they were always in meetings.”

Q: Did you get antsy waiting around?

JACKSON: “I was getting antsy, but at the same time I know it is a process that everyone has to go through, so I was just waiting patiently for my cell phone to ring and get the call to come up here.”

Q: What were you doing physically to stay in shape?

JACKSON: “I was training back at LSU with some of my former teammates until everyone started breaking out to camp and then I was out there by myself.”

Q: When did you think that the deal was getting close?

JACKSON: “Last night when I got the phone call. I really didn’t have a clue and then I was just happy. I got the phone call, told my family about it and everybody was like, ‘it’s time to get out of the house and go play some football.’”

Q: About what time did you get the phone call?

JACKSON: “It was late last night, I can’t remember. I was sleeping.”

Q: You got woken up with the good news then, so what was the reaction?

JACKSON: “I was just ready. My bags and everything were packed already. I was just waiting for the next plane to fly up here so I could get settled.”

Q: Are you ready to catch up on what these guys have been doing?

JACKSON: “Yeah, definitely. I’ve got some good veterans around me and these guys are really helping me out a whole lot. They are teaching me the ropes already going through the things we went through in OTAs and that we are doing right now. It’s going to take some time, but I’m pretty confident that my teammates and my coaches will help me out a whole lot.”

Q: How much have you leaned on (DE) Glenn Dorsey and how much will you lean on him going forward?

JACKSON: “A whole lot, a whole lot. He is a former teammate and I look up to the guy because he’s a tremendous player. So as much as possible I am going to lean on him and try to get some advice from him throughout the whole season.”

Q: Did it help knowing that he has been through something similar with this team and these coaches?

JACKSON: “Yeah, he is familiar with it, so I can take some positive advice from him and move forward from there.”

Q: When you were able to get in touch with your teammates, what were they telling you about practices and everything that was going on?

JACKSON: “They were saying good things like, ‘we are just waiting for you to get out here.’ I was just getting eager for the time to come and they were just telling me how they were doing at practice.”

Q: We noticed you got indoctrinated into Coach Haley’s camp today by jumping offsides and having to take a little run?

JACKSON: “Yeah, I haven’t been back since OTAs and I wasn’t really used to the new rule, yet. But it’s a team rule that if you jump offsides you have to run. I’m no one special, I’m part of this team, so when I jumped offsides, I had to pay my dues and touch the fence.”

Q: What’s it like working with Coach Krumrie?

JACKSON: “He is a great coach. I’m still learning from him every day and sometimes I’m amazed I’m on the field with Coach Krumrie. Just learning some things from him and knowing that he played defensive line in the NFL for several years, I’m just trying to take advantage of that.”

Q: It looked like Coach Krumrie was catching you up quickly. Do you find that he does that one-on-one time as much as possible?

JACKSON: “Yeah, all the time, whenever you need help you can always go to him. He’s never too busy for you, early in the morning or late at night, he’s always available to come and share some of his wisdom with us. As a player I am going to take full advantage of that.”

Q: He is a pretty intense dude, huh?

JACKSON: “Yeah, if you watched him play football, he’s still the same way when he’s coaching.”

Q: Do you plan on starting right away?

JACKSON: “I’m not really focused on that right now. I’m so far behind, I’m just trying to get into the playbook and learn it as much as I can and am looking forward to the start of preseason.”

Q: What do you expect to bring to this defense?

JACKSON: “First of all, I just want to be out here with my teammates when they are sweating and their going through those tough times. I just want to be out here with those guys, especially defensively, to create chemistry as we bond as a team. As long as I’m out here physically, sweating with those guys and going through the same things those guys are going through, I think we can get together quickly. From there, you never know what this team could do. We have a lot of great coaches and a lot of great veterans on our team, so the sky is the limit right now.”