Q&A: Scott McKillop, LB, Pittsburgh

Player Spotlight interview with Scott McKillop hosted by Daniel Mogollon on All Access Football Radio.

With the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine behind you, what’s your typical day like now?

McKillop: Right now, my typical day…I was fortunate enough to be out in California, training at Velocity in Irvine. I flew back in this past Saturday so I’ve been working out with our strength and conditioning coach at Pitt. That’s basically Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We’ll train for two days, have a little restoration day in the middle, then continue. Right now it’s my job, so I’m basically doing it all day long and trying to give it my full effort, and hopefully I reap the benefits come Draft day.

When you were out there at Velocity, who were some of the other guys you were working out with there in California?

McKillop: Some of the guys I was out there working with were B.J Raji, Mark Sanchez, Clay Matthews, Donald Brown, Pat White, Ryan Purvis, Eric Wood, Will Johnson from Michigan, and Tim Jamison from Michigan.

Did you build good relationships while you were out there? Who did you hang out with?

McKillop: I definitely think I built a couple of good relationships. My roommate was Eric Wood and going into the process, training together, we had some mutual respect for each other. He’s a great player, one of the hardest players I went up against. I hung out a little with B.J. Raji and Ryan Purvis from B.C.

Eric Wood is one of those nasty-type centers, right?

McKillop: Oh yeah, he brings his lunch pail to work every day.

How about a guy like B.J. Raji, wouldn’t you love to play behind him at the next level? I know you got to play with him a little at the Senior Bowl…

McKillop: Oh definitely, the one thing about him is he requires a double team every play so that frees-up the linebacker a little bit. You need to have some big boys in front of you to be able to play back and have some more freedom.

Let’s stay with the Senior Bowl—out of this whole process is that the most fun for the players, since you actually get to play football?

McKillop: Oh yeah, it was definitely real fun. It was my first opportunity to meet some of the names that you heard about from the people you played against. You also see how well you stack-up against the top seniors in the Draft. You get to create relationships with a bunch of players, but also like you said, it’s good to be out there tackling again—that’s one thing I like to do is play football. It was a great learning experience for me.

What did you learn from Marvin Lewis and his staff?

McKillop: One thing you get to learn about as you go to the next level is that it’s a business. There’s no time to play-around, there’s no dead-time—everything is done for a reason. With a coach like Marvin Lewis, he didn’t deal with any BS, and basically how he wanted it was how it was going to get done.

Do you think it’s indicative of your game that you stand out more in games than in practice? When people aren’t worried about what your measurements are and what your speed is, you just play football…

McKillop: Exactly, I think I flourish in working in team-drills. You know, whether you have to read, you have to react...basically all the intangibles you need to become a good football player. I think come game time I showed up, and that is one of the things—sometimes when people see me, they’re not impressed at first. But I know once they see me play, I will definitely leave an impression in people’s minds.

Is that annoying, because that implies that people have some sort of impression of you without having seen you play much?

McKillop: Oh definitely…one of the things about the Draft and the Combine is how you look. People put a lot of weight on what their first impressions are. I think sometimes it works against me in a way, but I think no matter what if the teams do enough scouting they’ll see that I’m a great player and I can play at the next level.

What were your experiences like the week of the Combine?

McKillop: I remember one of the guys there saying that this will probably be the last time you ever run a 40 ever in your life. The day of the workouts, the Monday when all the linebackers and I worked out, we were on the field from about 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. Basically what they want to do is see how well you perform. It’s like an away game, where you’re not used to anything and they just want to see how you perform at your lowest.

Did you feel you met the goal for yourself heading in?

McKillop: I think I did pretty well, you know, a lot of people—like you said earlier—weren’t expecting much out of me as far as them saying, “He’s out there. He’s isolating himself, that’s his weakness”. But I think Combine-wise and time-wise I showed people I am athletic, and contrary to what people think about me, I went up against my competition—who were supposed to be so much faster than me and so much quicker than me—and I beat them in a couple of events.

Any particular teams show some interest in you?

McKillop: I was fortunate enough to meet with all the linebacker coaches and get an opportunity to talk X’s-and-O’s. I think chalk talk is one area that I think is my great asset; my understanding of the game. Being able to scan the D-line, the linebackers, the secondary and have everybody on the same page, to make sure if something is wrong out there—I have the knowledge and the understanding of everything. But I had an opportunity…I had a meeting with the Chargers, the Jets, the Saints and the Panthers.

You have pretty good bulk. Did any teams talk to you about playing the 3-4 defense? Did that come up at all while you were talking to teams?

McKillop: Yeah, you know it was kind of funny. It depends who you talk to as far as teams. You know, some teams say they want you to lose some weight, and others say they want you to add more bulk. I have no problem doing either because throughout my entire life I was a wrestler, so losing weight has never been a problem with me. My dad is about 6’6’’ about 300 pounds, so I never had a problem gaining either.

What would you say is your max playing-weight if you had to bulk up a little bit?

McKillop: I can see myself getting to 255.

You’re a Pennsylvania kid, you went to Pitt, your favorite team is the Steelers…they play a 3-4 defense. Would that be a nice fit for you?

McKillop: You know, I just think I would love to play for the Steelers if they decided it would be in their best interest to draft me. I would go out there and prove it was the correct decision. But no matter who picks me up, I’m just going to go out there, no matter if its practice or a game, and try to erase any doubts they had about me as a player.

Have you had a chance to follow them closely the past few years playing in the same stadium? They also have a few good linebackers there…

McKillop: They’ve had a great nucleus, some great linebackers. It’s kind of hard not becoming a Steelers fan whenever you share the same facilities as the Pittsburgh Steelers, whether it’s practice or a game. You also get to watch them practice every once in a while. So it’s kind of hard not to become a Steelers fan. I’m from Pittsburgh, I went to college in Pittsburgh, and it’s kind of hard not to catch that Steeler vibe.

I’m sure you must have enjoyed this past January once your college career was over, watching the playoff run?

McKillop: Oh, yeah definitely. I was actually out in California when they won the Super Bowl. I was so happy, to the point that I couldn’t wait to get back to my family to celebrate the win with them.

Tell us a little bit about your teammate LeSean McCoy, and what’s it like trying to get a hold of Shady at practice?

McKillop: He’s a great kid. He has great character. One of my good friends. He helped me become a better linebacker this year. I thought I was pretty fortunate to go out and practice against one of the top running backs in college football. I think he helped me become a better tackler this year than I was last. He’s a great kid, I’m pulling for him.

How about the guard C.J. Davis?

McKillop: He’s thick, he hits hard, and he keeps his legs pumping. He’s a little underrated as well, in my opinion. Hopefully he gets a shot. I think he’ll catch-on with some team.

We closeout with a segment we call three-and-out. First down: Who was your favorite superhero growing up?

McKillop: Spiderman.

Second down: Who is your favorite female entertainer?

McKillop: My favorite female entertainer…I would say Jessica Biel.

Not a bad choice...Third down: First purchase you’re looking forward to making once you get that NFL contract? Maybe something you aren’t able to get now, but once you get that NFL paycheck, maybe you’ll be able to get.

McKillop: I’m pretty much set as far as myself. I would like to help my mom and dad out, because they helped me out and I just want to make them happy since they had to sacrifice for me and my two older brothers growing up. So whatever they'd like to get, I’ll help them out with it.

How about your brothers, anything for them?

McKillop: Umm…I guess if I’m fortunate enough to play I’ll sit down with them and see if I can help them out with something.

Photo Credit: College Press Box (Pittsburgh)