With the No. 15 pick, the Texans couldn't pass on linebacker Brian Cushing out of USC. After making the selection, defensive coordinator Frank Bush told the media that the Texans had been targeting Cushing because of his high motor and versatility, and that Cushing would compete for a starting position on the strong side.
Defensive coordinator Frank Bush
(opening statement) "I can't tell you enough how excited we are to have Brian (Cushing). Brian is a kid that we targeted all along. We like the way he plays football. He played at a very prestigious school and he was a starter there for four years. We just like the way he plays football. We like the energy he brings, the intensity he brings. We're excited to have him. To have the opportunity that late [in the draft] to pick him up – we were excited about it, so we did the deal."
(on what side of the defense Cushing will play) "He is going to be a strong side linebacker. LB Zac Diles is coming off an injury. We feel really good about Zac Diles, but with the opportunity to get a kid that we believe could be an impact player for us – we're going to put him on the strong side and give him the opportunity to get on the field early. Hopefully, he can come out and make plays for us."
{QUOTE}(on Cushing's past injuries) "We discussed those things; we went through them. Those are things that occurred when he was a youngster. It's part of the job, I would say. It's part of the job being a linebacker – you're going to have some nicks and bruises and whatnot. But, overall he was a clean kid medically – just some of the normal things that other linebackers have had."
(on the other three USC Linebackers projected as first round picks) "They were close. All of those kids are good football players. When you consider Cushing, Clay Matthews, Ray Maualuga and all of those kids – they are really close. We felt that Brian (Cushing) brought something that we needed and that is a form of intensity. He brings work ethic; he brings leadership. Again, he has that experience of being a starter there for quite a number of years. Yes, they were close, but at the end of the day we really wanted this kid."
(on Coach Bruce Matthews lobbying for Clay Matthews) "Quite naturally – we have Bruce Matthews here, the uncle of Clay Matthews; of course, he would do that. But, throughout the process, I think it was quite obvious to us that this was the kid we targeted, that we wanted. We liked Matthews a lot and Bruce was lobbying for him, but at the end of the day, we wanted Brian Cushing."
(on USC players historically not living up to hype) "That was talked about but at the end of the day we really believe that USC kids play for a long time in this league. We just went with history. You look throughout history of USC, they have a lot of players that play for a long time. They have a lot of Hall-of-Famers and, hopefully, we can turn this kid into one of those."
(on Cushing complementing LB Demeco Ryans and DE Mario Williams) "Absolutely. He is going to bring a certain intensity; he's going to bring a certain work ethic. He's also going to bring in a certain playmaking ability. We can put him right next to DeMeco, and we've got two really good football players to go run around and hit people."
(on steroid allegations from Cushing's past) "[We checked them out] thoroughly. With things the way they are in the league these days, of course we checked it out thoroughly. We couldn't find anything to it. We believe in the kid; we believe in everything he has done so far throughout his career path. The kid is an achiever – he achieved in high school, he achieved in college and we expect him to the same thing here."
(on the defensive design of USC compared to the Texans) "Well, similar design in the sense of we'll try to put him in a position to be on the edge of the defense, maybe rush maybe drop but give him a chance to get his space where he can attack the line of scrimmage, chase the football and hit people but all in all get over the tight end and secure the edge of the defense. He's a kid that can line up; he's strong enough to stand over the tight end, physically dominate a tight end. Then, we need him to stack him on the ball. He's done that also and he did a good job of it."
(on the pass rush scheme) "Because he is a kid that's played all three positions we can quite easily put him on the edge of the line of scrimmage and let him rush, we can rush him from a stacked position or leave him at the same linebacker position, letting him rush from there. he thing we like about him is his versatility, that he's a kid that understands the nickel package, he understands the regular packages and stuff. This kid can come in quite frankly and be a starting regular defense and also nickel defense."
(on Cushing's emotional reaction) "You know, Brian, he's an all business kid; he was fired up on the phone. Even though it didn't look as though he was excited, he was all fired up. So, basically, first thing he said was that he was ready to come in here and go to work. That's the type of kid he is - that's what he's been his whole career, and that's what we expect from him. He's the guy that's no nonsense; he's going to come in and try to go to work and try to help this team get better."
(on decision to draft Cushing) "Like I've said before, we had this guy targeted all along. We liked everything he brought. Of course (general manager) Rick Smith and (head coach) Gary (Kubiak), they were entertaining phone calls. I don't know what was said in those phone calls, but those phone calls were coming, and they entertained them. At the end of the day, we thought that this is the guy we like; we know what he can do for our football team. We know he can come and contribute right away, so we're going to take him. "
(on if they would like to take another defensive player) "As the defensive coordinator, of course, I would say that. Defensively, we have to have some guys that we are targeting, some guys that we like. Of course, defensive tackles are a part of that, but throughout the entire defense we like a lot of players on the board. We are going to keep doing our homework and see what happens as this draft works its way through, and, hopefully, we can come up with another good player."
(on his first impression of Cushing) "Well, you're right he was my guy ever since I watched him early in this season and throughout the combine. I guess he reminded me of another player I coached a little while ago, his demeanor, his intensity, and the way he played the game. He reminded me of a player I coached at Denver. I like everything about him and hopefully he can bring us some impact on the defense." (Reporter: "Who? Al Wilson?") "Al Wilson was one of my favorite players, Bill Romanowski, that type of intensity. I say that tongue-in-cheek because I don't want to put all that other stuff on that kid, so that he plays football that way."
