Texan Rosevelt Colvin said he is happy to settle in Houston, where many of his family members reside.
Newly-signed Texan Rosevelt Colvin and his agent, Kennard McGuire, spoke to the media at Reliant Stadium upon agreeing to terms on a free agent deal with the Texans.
Rosevelt Colvin
(on how it feels to sign with Houston) "I feel relieved. I think the process has been ongoing for a little while, and hopefully the situation will work out real well for both parties. I know what I try to go bring to the table. This is obviously a great organization, an up-and-coming team in the league, so hopefully we can try to get something done this year."
(on if he is healthy) "I am healthy enough to go out and train and continue to prepare myself for the '08 season, so I believe after I leave here I'm going to try to go get something done and hopefully we can continue to be productive and I'll get myself ready to roll."
(on what he means by "getting something done") "That means working out. That means lifting. That means running. I've been cleared for a long time to do any and everything to sort of go out and prepare myself, so going out on the field is not something that I'm limited on. I just hadn't had a team that I could do it for, so now that I have an employer, I can go out and try to perform the best I can."
(on why he picked Houston) "Well, I think all along, my self and my representation have always said that we're looking for a commitment. And I've said before, with my family, my four children, my wife, I'm committed to them, to putting them in a position that they can benefit and have the best opportunity they can to grow up and live. And so if I can find an organization that feels that way about me and (is) committed to who I am as a player, then I'm going to commit myself, and the Texans they have stepped up and committed themselves to me. And hopefully, like I said, the situation will work out for the best."
(on what he can bring to the Texans) "Well, my passion is rushing the passer. It's something I feel like I do well. I can bring some experience into a team. I feel like I'm versatile enough to play a couple of different positions, so whether or not I'll be playing offensive line or quarterback, defensive end or linebacker, it remains to be seen, but I think as we try to go forward from here, the most important thing is that I remain healthy. Not just myself, but everybody on the team. I'll try to get my role and what that's going to be. Like I said, what position that will be remains to be seen, but just the opportunity to get in here and speak with the coaching staff and get an opportunity to gel with the other players is the most important thing."
(on how important what his role would be was a factor in negotiations) "As a veteran, I think you'd be foolish not to know what you're getting yourself into. I think I'll reserve what the conversations pertained to or what specifically was said for my self and the coaching staff, but I think I'm comfortable with the situation. I think in the NFL, things can change with one snap. I mean, you can go from being a guy that is a full-time starter to a guy that's a backup or to a guy that's on injured reserve, and I've been through all three of those phases. I'm preparing myself to play every down, at any position, I think like I said I bring enough versatility that I can do a couple of different things. The coaching staff will have the ultimate say, but I'm on board to do what I need to do to help the team win as many ballgames as possible."
(on being cut by New England) "Well, this is a shout to my agent, Kennard McGuire. He does a good job of keeping me abreast of what potentially could happen and couldn't happen and so it wasn't necessarily a shock, but it was something my wife and I knew that it was a possibility. When it happened, the moment was sort of surreal because you're going through it and it's not something that I had ever experienced before. I had never been released before; I had left as a free agent. And so it happened. We moved forward, and almost three and a half months ago to the day, I'm here with a new organization and so I'm moving forward. I think they moved forward a long time ago."
(on if it's exciting to join a young defense) "Well, I think just the opportunity to come to a new team, a fresh start, something different is exciting to me. That's sort of icing on the cake with the young guys that they have that they've been able to develop the last couple of years on the defensive side of the ball. I would never say or try to proclaim that I'm the answer and I'm going to be the person that's going to propel them to Super Bowl championships, but at the same time I feel like I'm just a piece of the puzzle and I think if you can get a group of guys that can understand that, that can understand that everybody has their specific roles and if you can do your job the best you can then the guy next to you doesn't have to worry about doing it for you, you benefit that much more better as a team. I'm excited about the opportunity. New faces, new situation, new community, new team, hopefully same old Rosey which is a guy that goes out, works hard and does everything he can to make plays and win games."
(on if he has spoken with other Texans players) "Well, I have a little bit of a history with André Davis because he played in New England with me for a year, so I've had a chance to speak with him. Other than he, speaking with people in the front office, that's about most of the communication that I've had. But over the next six weeks, which is what I believe is what we have before training camp starts, I'll try to do the best I can to acclimate myself to the community. I've got a lot of history here because my parents both were born and raised in the area and obviously, the history with Rick (Smith), him giving me my scholarship to Purdue University. So it was a great foundation before I stepped foot here and so hopefully we can continue to build upon that and it can be a situation, like I said, that'll be beneficial for both parties."
(on if his playing experiences will help the team) "I think definitely having experience in something is not a negative, but at the same time, what you try to do, it's not a one-man game. You're not playing tennis and you're not wrestling. You see situations in other sports where teams make acquisitions and it helps the team prepare themselves and become a better team, and so I look forward to being a person that can do that. But at the same time, I can't go out there and do it by myself. And so the foundation that they have built as a team previously or prior to me coming here, the combination of those two will help us all."
(on being open-minded about his role) "Well, I think at the point in my career, this'll be my 10th season, although I don't have a lot of miles on my body. I have a couple things that have held me back a couple seasons. Being a veteran, you try to use those tools the best you can. The role, to what it's going to be and what it will be, like I said, could change at any moment, and so I'm prepared regardless if it's going to be 70 plays – which you don't want to play 70 plays because it means you're probably not winning those games – but 70 to 80 plays or 20 to 30 plays, whatever it may be to help the team benefit and get the job done defensively."
(on if was harder for Rick Smith to recruit him this time or to Purdue) "Man, I'd have to say the second time around. When I was coming out of Broad Ripple High School, he came down and worked me out at the gym after basketball practice and, you know, he pretty much wanted to see what I could do. And I really was hungry then. I needed somebody to believe in me. Same situation (now), but I think a little more convincing had to be done on this time around, just because I'm 30 years old and I'm at a point in my life where there are other priorities whereas back then I just had to worry about myself. So I think it's going to be a good relationship."
(on the biggest thing he had to be convinced of to sign with the Texans) "Well, again, my big issue, my big hang-up, was commitment. It was making sure that when I told my wife and my children, 'We're going to be moving somewhere,' that it's not going to be moving somewhere for two or three months and then we have to pick up and move again. Looking at them each and every day, I would not feel comfortable telling them, 'OK, well, we're going to be going somewhere else.' For my children, I'd like to have them in a stable environment, in a community that they'll be able to go to a good school and be able to grow in a way that I felt like I could grow when I was a young child myself."
(on his family being from the area) "My father grew up in the Texas City/Galveston area. My mother was born and raised in Marshall, Texas. Before my grandfather passed, he lived about five minutes down the road. My aunts and my uncles and cousins, my whole immediate family is here in the area, and so it's sort of a second homecoming for me. (That's) another reason why it was an intriguing situation, that I'll be able to reconnect with some of the family members that I speak to on the phone but don't necessarily get to see on a consistent basis. So not just for me but for my parents, give them a great reason to come back home and see their family members, as well."
(on if he will have his own cheering section at Reliant Stadium) "(I'll) definitely have a couple extra tickets to the game for family members reserved."
Kennard McGuire, Colvin's agent
(on how difficult it was to decide to sign with Houston) "You know, I can't really speak for it being difficult. I think the more important thing is the fact that it was a role that both sides really needed. At this stage of his career, it was something that he felt that he never really fully had the opportunity to utilize and obviously, from a certain standpoint, the Texans were looking for someone to fill a certain need also, so I looked at is as being a match that was equally beneficial."
(on how the Texans convinced Colvin not to sign with Indianapolis) "Well, it's not so much a convincing; I think it's more important a fact that there is a relationship that's in place from both sides. I think that the relationship that Rick (Smith) and Rosey have goes back beyond, and also I don't think there's any secret about the relationship that Rick and I have. Obviously, I think that Rick is a part of my "Fave Five," so from a communication standpoint we've always felt that this was something that was going to come to fruition."
(on commitment being important) "Well, I think it's a commitment on both sides. Without really going into the details, I think that you're going to see Rosevelt Colvin here for an extended period."
(on if Colvin signed a multi-year deal) "He'll be here for an extended period."
