2015 NFL Draft: Vikings pick T.J. Clemmings talks about injury, waiting to be drafted

Pitt offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings was taken in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday after being projected to go as high as the first round. As you might expect, in his introductory conference call with Minnesota media, he was asked about the foot injury that seemingly caused him to slip so far.

Clemmings says there are no concerns. At all.

"It was a concern with my foot but I have no concerns with my so-called injury. I'm ready to get to work."

...

"The past few days have been interesting. I waited patiently and I'm honestly happy and excited to be a Viking."

He added that he didn't know when it happened but that it was an old injury. The timing, of course, was impeccably bad. Clemmings also called the fall in the draft 'unfortunate' but repeatedly stressed his confidence in believing he ended up with the right team.

Teams certainly didn't share that optimism, but good to hear him feel so confident that it's not going to affect his ability to play.

And those first-round projections (or close to it, anyway) is where he thought he would go, too. When asked, Clemmings said that he was expecting to be picked near the end of the first round or into the second.

Other than the injury there were a few other interesting things in the conference call. He said that as a recruit for basketball, there was only one school that said he could play football and basketball - Duke. The football part isn't surprising since he was a highly recruited player, but the Duke admission makes you do a double take. Perhaps it was an opportunity as a walk-on with the chance to earn a scholarship. Whatever the case, Clemmings didn't expand upon it.

The entire interview (about eight minutes) is worth checking out via the link above.

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