Saints’ new rookie undrafted free agent Rafael Priest of TCU was kind enough to stop by Saints Nation and tell us a little bit about himself. I’ve got a few of these lined up so you can look forward to these in the coming days. Many thanks to Rafael for taking the time. He seems like a hard worker, a class act, and a player with potential. Best of luck to him!
Saints Nation: Welcome to the Saints and thanks for doing this! Can you tell me about the draft? Did you expect to get drafted and were you told you might go by a certain round?
Rafael Priest: I expected to get drafted in the late rounds and only the late rounds because I suffered a foot injury before we played in the Fiesta Bowl. So with that injury I didn’t get to run a 40 time on my pro day, and the injury scared teams off. During the season I was projected to be a 4th-5th round pick.
SN: I’m sure not getting drafted was a disappointment, especially with your success prior to the injury, but talk about the process afterward and how you feel about joining the Saints?
RP: After the draft I was disappointed but I was very fortunate to join the world champion Saints!
SN: Who is the toughest player you’ve gone up against during your college career?
RP: Throughout my career at TCU I have faced plenty of great receivers and many of them are NFL starters/contributors. So for me to pin-point 1 particular receiver would be very tough!
SN: So do you know anyone on the Saints or have any ties with the team, or will you be going in completely blind?
RP: No I don’t know anyone or have any ties with the Saints organization. Other than I played with David Roach who’s currently a safety for the Rams, he started his career off with the Saints a couple of years ago.
SN: I saw you had a streak of 47 consecutive games started in college, is that right? That’s a ridiculous stat. What else should Saints fans know about you as a player?
RP: Yea that’s correct, I started every year I was at TCU. I always play like I’m the underdog. I’m only about 5’10 but when I play you would never know. I started the season ranked as rivals.com 6th best cornerback in the nation. I was also a 3rd team All-American on a couple of lists. My stats weren’t that good this year because I didn’t get much action on my side!
SN: What do you know about the Saints cornerback situation going in? It’s crowded with depth so do you see it as an uphill battle making the team?
RP: I know its pretty stacked, but I also know a lot of corners got hurt this past season and they gave free agents opportunities. I have the mindset that I am a draft pick that slipped to free agency because of my prior injury that I’m now healthy from. Its gonna be a challenge, but I’m ready.
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